ITALY  m  TRMSITION, 


PUBLIC   SCENES  AND   PRIVATE   OPINIONS   IN  THE 
SPRING  OF  18G0; 


MnBtxaUh  bn  iS)fiScial  WotnmtntQ 


THE  PAPAL  ARCHIVES  OF  THE  REVOLTED  LEGATIONS. 


BY  WILLIAM  ARTHUR,  A.M., 

AUTHOR  OF  "a  mission  TO  THE  MTSOEK,"    "THE  SUCCESSTTITL  MEBOHANT,' 
"  THE  TONGUE  OF  FIRE,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
FRANKLIN    SQUARE. 

186  0. 


M 


THIS    VOLUME 

WITH    PROFOUND    EESPECT   AND    GRATEIUL    AFFECTION, 

TO  ONE  OF  ENGLAND'S  BEST  SONS, 

AND    OF    ITALY'S   WARMEST   FRIENDS, 

THE   SEVENTH  EARL   OF  SHAFTESBURY. 


248106 


PREFACE. 


The  Documents  mentioned  on  the  title-page  form 
two  ponderous  volumes,  containing  sixteen  hundred 
pages,  which  cost  in  Florence  fifty-seven  francs  twelve 
centimes,  about  two  pounds  six  shillings.  They  were 
collected  by  a  decree  of  Farini  as  Dictator  of  the 
JEmilia.  It  was  expected  that  a  congress  would  as- 
semble at  Paris  to  solve  the  difS.culties  arising  out  of 
the  peace  of  Yilla  Franca,  in  which  case  efforts  would 
be  made  to  bring  the  Eomagna  once  more  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Pope.  The  government  which  had 
replaced  his  resolved  that  the  plenipotentaries  of  Eu- 
rope should  have  in  their  hands  the  best  means  of 
judging  as  to  the  justice  of  the  determination  felt  by 
the  people  to  return  no  more  under  the  temporal  au- 
thority of  His  Holiness.  Commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed in  the  different  provinces  to  search  the  ar- 
chives and  forward  documents  to  the  appointed  edi- 
tor, the  Cavaliere  Achille  Grennarelli. 

Large  quantities  of  records  proved  to  be  wanting 

from  several  reasons.     In  Eavenna,  the  documents 

connected  with  "great   causes"  had  been   sent   to 

Eome.    In  Faenza,  the  archives  had  been  burned  by 

A  / 


U  PEEFACE. 

the  enraged  populace.  These  defects  admitted  of 
some  reparation;  for  in  other  cities  correspondence 
of  the  Eavenna  authorities  existed ;  and  as  to  Faen- 
za,  leading  facts  were  put  upon  record  under  formal 
attestation  of  witnesses.  But  some  defects  admitted 
of  no  remedy.  In  Ferrara,  a  secretary  general,  Tel- 
larini,  had  spent  three  days  in  burning  papers:  all 
the  minutes  and  decisions  of  the  tremendous  Coun- 
cil of  Censure  had  disappeared  in  every  part  of  the 
Komagna;  and  the  "most  reserved"  correspondence, 
contained  in  registers  marked  P.  P.,  and  kept  by  the 
legates  themselves,  without  any  intervention  of  ofS.- 
cials,  was  entirely  missing. 

Notwithstanding  all  this,  matter  was  forthcoming 
sufficient  to  furnish  the  two  huge  books  already  is- 
sued: these  consist  of  the  correspondence  of  legates, 
pro-legates,  delegates,  governors,  military  and  police 
authorities,  with  one  another,  and  with  the  ministers 
at  Eome;  of  judicial  records,  decrees  of  synods,  in- 
quisitors, bishops,  and  other  public  records.  Four- 
teen thousand  documents  remain  to  be  published.* 

*  Sec  Relazione  a  S.  E.  il  Cavaliere  Luigi  Farini,  Govematore 
delle  Provincie  Unite  delV  Emilia^  which  is  prefixed  to  the  first  vol- 
ume. The  title  of  the  volumes  is,  II  Governo  Pontijicio  e  lo  Stato 
Romano :  Documenti  preceduti  da  una  Esposizione  Storica,  e  raccolii, 
per  JDecreto  del  Governo  delle  liotnagne,  dal  Cav.  Adiille  Gennarelli, 
Avvocato  nella  sacra  Rota,gia  Residente  di  Collegio  della  Pontifida 
Academia  Archelogica,  <5c.,  ^c,  Sfc.  Parte  PrimOy  pp.  cxv.,  646. 
Parte  Seconda,  pp.  xxxviii.,  686,  cxx. 


PREFACE.  Ill 

In  the  ''  Documents"  use  is  freely  made  of  italics 
and  small  capitals  to  mark  points  worthy  of  special 
note ;  but,  as  I  presume  this  to  be  the  editor's  work, 
and  not  in  the  originals,  all  quoted  here  are  given 
without  these  helps  to  eyes  unused  to  detect  the  full 
import  of  ofSicial  language.  In  a  few  instances  in  the 
Appendix  they  are  retained. 

In  several  cases,  the  substance  of  a  set  of  docu- 
ments has  been  framed  into  a  connected  narrative. 
Here  I  challenge  keen  examination  as  to  the  care 
with  which  facts  are  stated.  For  instance,  in  the 
narrative  of  the  death  of  Garibaldi's  wife,  striking 
circumstances  generally  believed,  and  perhaps  capa- 
ble of  proof  by  other  evidence,  are  omitted,  and  noth- 
ing given  but  what  the  documents  in  the  collection 
supply. 

The  Cavaliere  Gennarelli,  in  publishing  an  Italian 
edition  of  "  The  Pope  and  the  Congress,"  has  accom- 
panied it  with  so  much  historical  matter  as  to  make 
a  valuable  little  book,  under  the  title,  ^^I  Lutti  dello 
jStato  Romano^  As  he  confines  himself  chiefly  to 
comments  on  the  Documents  edited  by  himself,  I 
have  now  and  then  also  quoted  from  this  work,  al- 
ways distinguishing  his  statements  from  what  is  of- 
ficial. 

For  the  translations  in  the  Appendix,  and  a  few 
of  those  in  the  body  of  the  book,  I  am  indebted  to 
my  brother,  Mr.  James  K.  Arthur. 


IV  PKEFACE. 

As  to  tlie  narrative  part  of  this  book,  its  only 
value,  if  it  has  any,  lies  in  reporting  the  opinions  of 
persons  of  all  classes,  uttered  freely  to  a  stranger, 
who,  not  being  a  person  of  consequence,  was  the 
more  likely  to  hear  their  real  views.  If  it  helps  stay- 
ers at  home  to  any  idea  of  the  scenes  my  friends  and 
I  witnessed,  if  it  gives  them  the  least  share  of  the 
pleasure  we  enjoyed,  and,  still  more,  if  it  lead  any  to 
a  deeper  sympathy  in  the  sorrows  of  the  Italian  peo- 
ple, a  stronger  interest  in  their  welfare,  and,  above  all, 
to  prayer  for  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  nation 
now  rising  up  in  their  long  disjointed  provinces,  it 
will  not  have  appeared  in  vain. 

NoTTiNG  IIiLL,  July  ith,  1860. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Savoy  pendino  Annexation 7 

CHAPTER  II. 
Across  Mont  Cenis 17 

CHAPTER  III. 

TUEIN   DURING   THE  VoTING   UPON   ANNEXATION    IN    CeNTKAL 

Italy 31 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Into  Lombahdy 69 

CHAPTER  V. 
Milan  during  the  Rejoicings  for  the  Annexation 79 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Great  Plain 115 

CHAPTER  VII. 
PiACENZA,  Parma,  and  Modena 133 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Bologna  during  the  General  Elections 149 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Papal   Government   in    the   Romagna  during   the   Ten 
Years  op  Restoration,  as  shown  by  official  Docu- 
ments   179 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Apennines 205 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

PAGE 

Florence  at  the  Areival  of  the  Prince  op  Carignano; 

AND   ALSO  AT  THE   RECEPTION   OF  ViCTOR   EmMANUEL 223 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Sunrise  Shore 253 

CHAPTER  Xin. 
CiviTA  Vecchia  and  THE  Campagna 267 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Rome  in  Holt  Week 283 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Papal  Government   in  Rome  during  the  Ten  Years  of 
Restoration,  as  shoavn  by  official  Documen-ts 361 

APPENDIX. 

The  Wife  of  Garibaldi 405 

The  Conforteria  of  the  Ferrara  Case 406 

Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte 409 

Judgment  of  the  Court  of  Bologna 411 

Edict  of  the  Synod  at  Loretto 414 

Decree  of  an  Inquisitor  General 423 


(Cliaptn  I 


SAVOY  nmim  AfflEXATIOX. 


The  train  from  Lyons  worms  its  way  among  the  out- 
lying Alps  like  a  steamer  on  a  mountain  river,  which 
sometimes  appears  as  if  she  must  run  against  the  solid 
cliffs,  but,  at  the  right  moment,  finds  a  cunning  outlet. 
The  hills  of  France  are  passing  into  those  of  Savoy 
without  any  chasm  to  mark  the  change.  We  stop  be- 
fore a  pretty  Swiss-looking  station,  where,  on  neigh- 
boring doors,  we  read,  '•^Imperial  Custom-house^''  and 
"  Sardinian  Custom-house.^''  It  is  the  frontier  post  of 
Culoz. 

Presenting  ourselves  to  the  Sardinian  Custom-house 
officer  to  have  baggage  and  passports  examined,  he 
says,  "  It  is  not  necessary.  If  you  were  entering  France 
from  Piedmont,  it  would  be  so;  but  now  you  are  in 
France  and  entering  Savoy,  which  is  neither  Sardinian 
nor  French."  This  was  said  with  an  easy  air,  showing 
that  while  all  our  powers  in  England,  from  Palmerston 
down  to  Punch,  were  discussing  the  probable  annexa- 
tion of  Savoy,  it  had  already  been  settled  in  the  mind 
of  this  potentate  of  the  frontier.  I  said  with  a  smile, 
"  Savoy  is  Sardinian  to-day ;  to-morrow  it  may  be 
French."  He  gave  me  a  patronizing  nod,  as  much  as 
A  2 


10  ITALY   i:^    TRANSITION. 

to  say, "  Yon  are  rather  intelligent  for  an  Englishman ;" 
and  then  added,  "  Very  probably  it  will  be  so." 

A  little  way  from  the  frontier  line  a  noble  lake  opens 
out  among  darksome  mountains.  They  press  it  in  on 
both  sides  to  the  very  brink.  Still  for  miles  and  miles 
it  stretches  on,  gleaming  beautifully  under  the  bright 
sky.  Along  one  shore  runs  a  railway,  now  burrowing 
in  the  mountain's  side,  now  peeping  out  upon  the  sun- 
ny water,  now  winding  right  round  the  curving  shore. 
It  bears  the  name  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  On  the  oppo- 
site side,  close  under  the  brows  of  a  stern  mountain,  is 
a  quaint  old  castle,  the  place  where  lie  the  ashes  of  his 
forefathers,  those  ancient  Counts  of  Savoy,  whose  sepul- 
chre is  part  of  the  payment,  wrung  from  him  by  his  im- 
perial kinsman,  for  services  in  Italy. 

The  mountains  stand  grandly  around  Chambery,  and 
the  sunsets  are  fine ;  but  it  is  a  poor  country  town,  ex- 
ceedingly unlike  the  capital  of  any  thing.  The  people 
say  it  has  20,000  inhabitants,  the  books  say  10,000,  and 
the  eye  sides  with  the  books.  Friars,  in  the  robes  of 
their  orders,  tell  that  you  are  nearing  Italy ;  newspa- 
pers, free  and  loud  in  their  political  oj^inions,  tell  that 
you  are  not  in  France.  It  is  a  very  dull  place  in  spite 
of  three  barracks,  four  nunneries,  and  three  monasteries. 
Before  the  French  Revolution  there  were  twenty  con- 
vents in  all.  It  has  one  grand  street,  surpassing  any 
thing  in  most  English  j^rovincial  towns,  and  worthy  of 
Turin.    Near  it  stands  a  fantastic  monument  of  ele- 


SAVOY   PENDINa  ANNEXATION.  11 

phants  and  fountains,  reared  to  General  de  Boigne,  who, 
in  serving  the  Mahrattas,  amassed  heaps  of  money,  and 
bestowed  nearly  three  and  a  half  millions  of  francs  on 
his  native  town  in  charities. 

How  India  meets  me  every  where !  Once,  driving 
on  the  Highland  road,  I  asked  the  coachman  who  own- 
ed that  new  seat  rising  up  to  enrich  a  mountain  dis- 
trict.    "  Mr. ,  from  India."     The  other  day,  seeing 

one  of  those  grand  new  houses  facing  Kensington  Gar- 
dens, on  the  rise  of  Bayswater  Hill,  occupied,  I  heard 

it  was  taken  by  Sir  J. ,  from  India.    At  the  Cape 

of  Good  Hope,  driving  through  Wynberg,  you  are  told 
that  beautiful  village  is  a  sanitarium  for  families  from 
India.  In  Egypt  you  find  that  Alexandria  was  built, 
that  Suez  exists,  that  railways  are  at  work,  and  the  ca- 
nal through  the  Isthmus  is  discussed,  all  for  India. 

The  physical  type  of  the  people  of  Chambery  is  not 
French,  Italian,  or  Swiss;  a  touch  of  all;  most  of  the 
last.  They  are  well-made,  and  not  ill-looking ,  but  the 
peasantry  are  of  a  low  type,  high  cheek-bone,  dull 
browny-yellow  complexion,  black,  massy  hair,  and  squat 
person.  Although  the  general  stature  seems  good,  and 
we  met  with  a  real  giant,  there  is  a  remarkable  number 
of  dwarfs. 

The  tombs  of  the  old  Savoy  princes  lie  behind  Cham- 
bery, and  their  cradle  before  it,  in  the  district  of  Mau- 
rienne.  The  road  and  the  railway  both  run  by  the  side 
of  the  swift  Isere,  the  course  of  which  dark-browed 
mountains  overhang,  and  vines  fringe,  and  poor  but  pic- 


12  ITALY  IN  TEAKSinON. 

turesque  villages  animate.  "We  found  that  the  river 
had  made  an  eruption  upon  the  railway,  and  at  one 
place  can-ied  it  clean  away.  We  were  obliged  to  get 
into  diligences ;  and  here  I  found  myself  with  a  number 
of  Savoyards.  Opposite  me  sat  a  burly  drover.  I  hap- 
pened to  observe  that  in  England  there  was  at  present 
a  good  deal  of  discussion  about  Savoy,  when  the  drover 
passionately  rephed,  "We  never  speak  of  England  here; 
we  don't  like  England ;  we  Hke  France ;  we  never  name 
England."  This  provoked  good-natured  and  polite  re- 
monstrances from  his  neighbors,  who,  however,  all  ap- 
peared to  share  in  the  pohtical  feeling  indicated  by  his 
ebullition.  There  w^as  one  woman  who  had,  perhaps,  a 
little  disinclination  to  be  annexed,  but  the  preference  of 
the  others  was  clearly  pronounced.  One  very  intelli- 
gent man  made  no  complaint  of  the  part  England  took 
in  the  matter,  except  that  one  member  of  Parliament 
had,  in  a  debate,  used  the  expression,  "  Perish  Savoy !" 
I  told  them  the  probability  was  that  the  same  gentle- 
man would  say,  "  Perish  England !"  rather  than  have  a 
war  with  France.  They  spoke  of  their  relations  with 
Piedmont  as  being  nothing  better  than  those  of  a  trib- 
utary province ;  because,  owing  to  the  barrier  of  the 
Alps,  they  could  not  have  any  commercial  intercourse 
with  it ;  and  from  the  exigencies  of  Italy,  the  govern- 
ment was  obliged  to  give  all  its  thought  and  money  to 
its  Italian  possessions ;  so  that  Savoy,  poor  in  itself,  was 
made  still  poorer  by  contributing  to  national  funds  in 
the  benefits  of  which  it  had  no  participation. 


SAVOY  PENDING  ANNEXATION.  13 

In  changing  from  the  railway,  the  porters  who  trans- 
ferred the  luggage  uttered  some  fierce  grumbles  against 
the  English,  calUug  us  by  the  Continental  sobriquet, 
taken  from  our  national  vulgar  oath,  which  a  sort  of 
rough  justice  has  stereotyped  into  a  nickname,  that 
commemorates  both  our  imperious  mode  of  speaking  to 
foreigners  and  our  use  of  bad  language.  The  English- 
man's name  abroad  is  too  often  the  "  G — d  d — n."  I 
felt  a  sort  of  blush  as  these  rough,  poor,  but  honest- 
looking  Savoyards  muttered,  not  thinking  I  heard  them, 
this  epithet.  It  reminded  me  of  another  scene.  One 
beautiful  Monday  morning,  near  Jebel  Ryboon,  in  the 
midst  of  Egyptian  desolation,  an  intelligent  Bedouin, 
returning  from  a  survey  of  a  camping  ground  he  had 
discovered,  brandished  a  bottle,  and  cried,  "  They  were 
English :  this  is  the  token  of  the  Englishman :  you  can 
trace  him  by  it  any  where." 

After  another  run  upon  the  railway,  we  stopped  at 
St.  Jean  de  Maurienne.  This  is  a  valley  nobly  girt  with 
Alps.  One  sometimes  sees  fanciful  resemblances.  I 
hardly  know  why  this  place  constantly  brought  to  my 
mind  the  Wady  Shellal,  in  the  Arabian  Desert,  except 
that  the  hills  were  equally  grand  and  all-surrounding, 
but  here  they  have  not  the  same  splendid  variety  of 
color.  The  valley  is  wider,  and  vegetation  frequent ; 
for  pines  grow  on  the  mountain  tops,  and  vineyards  en- 
rich their  bases,  whereas  in  Shellal  all  is  undisputed 
rock.  The  greatest  difference,  however,  is  that  here  is 
a  town  in  the  bottom  of  the  valley;  and  when  your  eye 


14  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

has  accustomed  itself  to  the  snow,  you  can  pick  out 
roof  after  roof,  village  after  village,  spire  and  tower,  far 
up  upon  the  cold  white  moimtains.  What  takes  men 
away  up  there  ?  By  what  opposite  instincts  is  the  hab- 
itation of  the  world  effected!  The  gregarious  one, 
which  makes  the  dingiest  lane  of  cities  teem  with  in- 
habitants, and  the  pioneering  one,  which  drives  some 
farther  and  higher  than  others  had  reached,  and  sets 
them  always  to  wrestle  with  nature  rather  than  com- 
pete with  man. 

On  a  spring  day,  in  the  bright  sun,  the  air  of  St.  Jean 
is  wonderfully  refreshing.  The  snow  lies  thick  upon 
the  upper  hills,  three  yards  deep,  they  say.  In  the  val- 
ley it  is  all  gone.  A  little  river  and  a  torrent,  in  a  noisy 
race  to  meet  the  Isere,  join  under  a  quaint  wooden 
bridge.  The  ground  is  strewed  with  boulders  brought 
down  in  a  recent  flood,  w^hich  has  left  the  old  bed  of 
the  torrent  dry,  and  desolated  the  valley.  The  hotel 
was  all  but  swept  away ;  and,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
a  little  farther  down,  the  Isere,  triumjDhing  over  the 
engineers,  carried  off  eight  or  nine  miles  of  their  iron 
way. 

In  a  short  walk  up  the  valley  we  met  with  two  cases 
of  goitre.  The  first  was  a  man — short,  gingerbread 
color,  low  forehead,  matted  hair,  thin  voice,  very  slow 
in  intellect,  and  the  whole  base  of  the  neck  bulged  out. 
He  was  painfully  disengaging  the  rich  soil  from  the 
stony  ruin  with  which  the  flood  had  overrun  the  valley. 
The  second  was  an  old  woman,  more  than  seventy, 


SAVOY  PENDING  ANNEXATION.  15 

pleasant  as  a  child,  light-hearted,  and  full  of  racy  sto- 
ries, especially  about  the  fine  mineral  waters  close  by, 
and  their  effects,  as  shown  upon  the  invalids  returning 
from  the  late  wars.  She  was  little  goitred  in  compari- 
son with  the  man. 

Another  old  woman  was  gathering  something  from 
among  the  stones,  where  to  all  appearance  nothing  was 
to  be  found.  When  asked  what  it  was,  most  civilly 
she  came  to  show  it.  It  was  dandelion  for  salad.  Poor 
thing !  she  looked  a  picture  of  decent  poverty,  and 
seemed  to  have  no  thought  of  begging.  On  getting  a 
few  sous,  how  gratefully  she  said,  "  You  do  not  know 
what  a  service  you  do  me !  I  will  pray  to  the  good 
God  for  you."  She  then  told  how  poor  she  was,  and 
her  old  man  had  been  ill  for  months,  and  often  they  had 
no  bread ;  but  it  was  not  in  complaint,  but  in  gratitude 
for  the  sous.  Talking  of  the  sorrows  of  life  easily  led 
to  talk  of  God's  love  and  mercy;  she  cheerfully  re- 
sponded. When  I  told  her  of  His  free  mode  of  giving 
us  absolution  of  sin,  she  said  the  priest  had  set  her  cer- 
tain penances;  that  she  had  not  time  to  go  through 
them  rightly,  and  her  mind  was  troubled.  It  was  pleas- 
ant to  tell  her  how  God  absolved  like  a  King,  freely 
and  of  pure  mercy,  for  the  sake  of  His  Son  alone. 

You  may  go  a  good  way  before  you  find  a  purer  air 
than  in  the  valley  of  St.  Jean,  or  a  dirtier  walk  than 
through  the  town  and  round  it.  It  is  worth  going 
some  distance  to  see  an  English  lady  picking  her  steps 
in  the  streets,  and  still  more  in  the  outskirts  of  the 


16  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

town.  As  to  the  floors  of  the  hotel,  they  seem  to  re- 
joice in  perfect  exemption  from  suds  or  scrubbing- 
brushes. 

Perhaps,  in  going  through  Savoy,  you  will  now  and 
then  find  yourself  asking,  "  When  will  the  country  be- 
gin ?"  as  yet  you  only  see  mountains.  Then  you  may 
smile  at  yourself,  and  recall  the  old  story  of  the  clown 
in  the  city,  who  could  not  see  the  town  for  houses. 
These  mountains  are  Savoy. 

When  I  next  saw  the  valley  of  St.  Jean  de  Maurienne, 
the  decree  of  annexation  had  passed :  trooj^s  of  French 
soldiers  were  winding  among  the  Alpine  passes,  and 
the  Savoyards  seemed  well  content  that  they  and  their 
vines  were  to  belong,  henceforth,  to  the  nation  to  which 
their  language  and  their  interests  pointed  them.  It  is 
a  poor  country,  but  beautiful ;  and  with  its  lakes,  its 
mountains,  its  vineyards,  its  glaciers,  and  its  sunsets,  if 
it  is  henceforth  to  be  known  in  European  dij^lomacy  as 
the  IDEA,  it  must,  at  least,  be  admitted  that  the  idea  is 
a  romantic  one. 

In  modern  warfare  the  rifled  gun  may  be  a  great  im- 
provement, but  it  is  nothing  to  that  crooked  one  by 
which  a  statesman,  appearing  to  aim  straight  up  the 
street,  really  shoots  round  the  corner.  Piedmont  fought 
for  Milan  upon  the  Tchernaya,  and  France  for  Savoy 
upon  the  Mincio. 


ACROSS  MONT  CENIS. 


The  first  time  I  crossed  Mont  Cenis  was  in  October, 
before  the  pass  had  become  clogged  with  the  great  falls 
of  snow.  We  wound  up  from  Lanslebourg  in  the  morn- 
ing twilight,  with  Alps  now  stretching  higher  than  we 
could  see  from  the  windows  of  the  coupe^  and  now 
bearing  stars  upon  their  shoulders.  About  sunrise  we 
reached  the  line  of  snow,  and  then  the  peaks,  gloriously 
blushed  into  great  varieties  of  color ;  yet,  beautiful  as 
are  those  tints,  drawn  out  by  the  morning  sun  from  the 
snow  of  the  Alps,  I  doubt  whether  they  exceed,  if  indeed 
they  equal,  those  drawn  by  the  setting  one  from  the 
peaks  of  Sinai,  where  he  shines  upon  rock,  and  rock 
alone.  Mysterious  power  and  wealth  of  light !  when 
heaven  really  beams  upon  earth,  be  it  cold  snow  or  hard 
rock,  all  things  beam  again  with  splendor. 

The  descent  of  the  mountain  on  the  Italian  side  was 
incomparably  grand :  the  morning  sun  shining  right  be- 
fore you,  the  sensation  of  height  and  depth,  the  vast 
range  over  whigh  the  eye  swept,  and  the  joy  of  motion 
as  you  galloped  down  and  down.  After  a  while  a  wide 
white  surface,  gleaming  and  stretching  up  an  opening 
valley,  spread  far  beneath.    For  miles  and  miles  away 


20  ITALY  IN  TEANSinON. 

it  sparkled  and  glistened,  narrowing  and  winding  among 
the  hills  like  a  lake,  now  looking  like  water,  now  like 
snow-wreaths,  now  like  hills  and  dells  of  ice.  "With  us 
was  a  Savoyard  gentleman,  who  exclaimed,  "  How  like 
the  Mer-de-glace  of  Mont  Blanc !"  And  we  were  en- 
chanted with  the  glacier — all  the  more  so,  because  no 
description  had  prepared  us  to  expect  one.  But  what 
was  our  surprise  to  find  that  this  glassy  scene  was  only 
what,  if  looking  at  it  from  the  groimd  below,  we  should 
call  "  a  cloud,"  though,  viewed  now  from  the  heaven- 
ward side,  it  was  all  sheen  and  glory,  the  beauty  and 
wonder  of  the  wjiole  landscape.  It  was  many  hundreds 
of  feet  below  us.  I  had  seen  a  broader  sheet  of  clouds, 
lying  farther  down,  hiding  the  plains  of  the  Mysore  from 
the  tops  of  the  N'eilgherries ;  but,  grand  as  that  sight 
was,  it  had  none  of  this  icelike  witchery.  Every  ap- 
proach seemed  but  to  heighten  the  impression ;  for  the 
vaUey  opened  out ;  and  as  it  did  so,  the  seeming  glacier 
spread  farther  and  grew  brighter. 

At  length  we  came  near  enough  to  see  the  light  mist 
floating  above  the  denser  body  of  the  cloud.  Then 
trees,  the  trunks  of  which  were  hidden,  held  up  their 
tops  above  it  into  the  sunshine ;  then  a  house,  the  walls 
of  which  seemed  as  if  they  were  under  water,  had  its 
roof  in  the  full  light.  Presently  the  horses'  heads  go 
into  the  mysterious  mist,  and  then  we  ourselves  are 
steeped  in  it.  First  of  all  the  mountain  peaks  disai> 
pear,  then  the  trees;  then  the  sun  loses  his  beams, 
looks  for  a  while  like  a  red  plate  of  metal,  turns  darker. 


ACEOSS   MONT  CENIS.  21 

and  finally  is  quenched,  and  at  last  tlie  horses'  heads  are 
the  most  distant  objects  within  view.  Still  down  we 
rush  through  the  cloud,  as  we  had  rushed  down  toward 
it ;  and  then,  in  a  few  minutes  more,  just  as  w^e  had 
gradually  plunged  in,  we  gradually  plunge  out  of  it, 
and  the  vale  of  Susa,  our  first  glimpse  of  Italy,  wooded 
and  watered,  and  shimmering  with  tremulous  light, 
opens  to  the  view. 

When  we  got  out,  our  glacier  of  the  morning  hung 
hundreds  of  feet  overhead,  just  like  an  ordinary  mass 
of  light  gray  cloud.  It  made  one  think  how  often,  in 
life,  what  is  a  mist  while  we  are  passing  through  it,  and 
afterward  a  cloud,  would  seem  not  the  gloom,  but  the 
beauty  of  our  journey,  had  we  the  power  of  looking 
upon  things  from  the  heavenward  instead  of  the  earth- 
Ward  side. 

Good  old  Colonel ,  of  the  Bombay  army,  who 

was  in  another  part  of  the  diligence,  could  hardly  be- 
lieve us,  at  first,  that  it  had  not  been  a  glacier,  and  then 
seemed  any  thing  but  pleased  to  lose  the  idea  that  he 
had  seen  one  grander  than  all  his  imaginations. 

The  next  time  I  passed  Mont  Cenis  was  in  the  pres- 
ent year,  surrounded  by  a  mass  of  uniforms,  French 
and  Sardinian,  and  a  cloud  of  smoke.  The  night  was 
fine,  the  air,  notwithstanding  the  season,  mild,  and,  I 
believe,  but  for  the  tobacco,  would  have  been  pure. 
On  my  left  was  a  fine,  intelligent  French  stafi'-officer ; 
on  the  right,  an  educated,  shrewd  Sardinian  one;  in 
the  front  other  French  ones,  rough,  soldierly,  and  good- 


22  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

humored.  Before  my  nationality  was  discovered,  they 
discussed  military  organization.  Our  army  passed  un- 
der review.  All  agreed  that  the  British  soldier  was  a 
first-rate  one ;  and  it  was  even  said  that,  owing  to  the 
superior  education  diffused  throughout  England,  he 
was,  individually,  more  intelligent  than  the  French  one ; 
but  as  to  military  organization ! 

"  Fine  soldiers,"  said  the  Piedmontese,  "  but  without 
organization,  and  badly  commanded." 

"  Oh,  the  English,"  replied  a  Frenchman,  "  they  are 
the  Chinese  of  Europe.  They  were  just  the  same  in 
the  Crimea  as  they  had  been  at  Waterloo ;  they  had 
not  advanced  a  step." 

"  No  wonder  all  went  wrong  with  them,"  said  the 
Sardinian. 

"  Just  imagine  T'  strikes  in  the  staff-officer ;  "  they 
are  indeed  the  Chinese.  The  other  day,  in  Parliament, 
a  member  proposed  to  abolish  that  antique  abuse  which 
makes  the  British  officer  a  jest  in  all  the  armies  of  Eu- 
rope, the  purchase  of  promotion ;  and  positively  a  large 
majority  voted  for  its  preservation !" 

A  laugh  followed,  with  the  remark,  *''0h,  really,  that, 
at  any  rate,  docs  not  belong  to  our  age !"  Something 
occurred  to  bring  out  the  fact  that  I  was  English,  when 
they  asked  my  opinion  on  the  points  just  alluded  to.  I 
said  that  there  was  one  thing  in  which  I  did  not  agree, 
namely,  that  British  officers  supported  the  purchase  sys- 
tem from  self-interest.  It  was  much  more  from  a  caste 
feeling ;  for  really  the  service  was  so  poorly  paid  that 


ACEOSS   MONT   CENIS.  23 

one  could  not  charge  them  with  self-interest  in  the  mat- 
ter. To  this  they  replied,  "  That  may  be ;  but  a  caste 
feeling  applied  to  a  national  service  is  in  itself  a  mean 
form  of  self-interest ;  and,  after  all,  in  a  purchase  system 
it  is  plain  that  men  can  get  forward  who  under  a  sys- 
tem of  advance  by  talent  would  be  left  far  behind." 

The  allusion  to  a  caste  feeling  brought  remarks  on 
the  absurdity  of  a  system  that,  in  England  above  all 
countries,  shut  out  the  middle  class.  "  England  is  the 
nation  celebrated  for  a  middle  class,  but  the  army  is 
only  high  and  low.  England  is  the  country  of  tempt- 
ing careers ;  the  son  of  a  baker  or  barber,  if  well  edu- 
cated, may  become  a  peer ;  but  the  army  is  a  blind  al- 
ley, into  which  no  man  with  ambition  will  enter  unless 
he  has  money  or  patrons.  England  is  the  nation  of 
voluntary  enlistment,  and  all  inducements  to  the  most 
pushing  class  in  the  country  are  withheld.  "No  wonder 
that  the  government  is  at  a  loss  for  men,  and  that  re- 
cruits are  generally  clowns.  And  in  this  day,  when  the 
individual  intelligence  of  the  man  and  the  non-commis- 
sioned officer  is  a  quality  equal  in  value  to  ability  in  the 
general,  to  continue  a  system  that  leaves  a  non-commis- 
sioned officer  all  but  hopeless  of  a  gentleman's  position, 
and  so  keeps  away  all  who  are  capable  of  winning  it, 
but  unable  to  buy  it !"  Such  is  the  substance  of  much 
that  was  said. 

This  conversation  raised  a  question  as  to  the  bear- 
ings of  the  purchase  system  which  home  discussions 
would  not  be  likely  to  bring  before  one.    These  foreign 


24  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

soldiers,  if  called  to  face  an  English  army,  would  be- 
lieve that  the  men  in  the  chief  places  were  not  the  best 
heads,  but  the  best  purchasers.  How  much  would  this 
feeling  reduce  the  moral  impression  made  upon  a  hos- 
tile army  by  a  British  force  ?  Their  opinion  might  be 
wrong,  but  while  our  system  lasts  they  will  hold  it. 

The  stock  argument  in  defense  did  not  fare  very  well. 
"  After  aU,  the  British  army  is  well  officered." 

"  The  British  army  well  officered !  It  is  bravely  of- 
ficered. iN'o  men  can  be  braver ;  but  as  to  being  well 
officered,  what  is  it,  in  a  British  army,  that  breaks  down  ? 
The  soldier  ?  Never.  What  broke  down  in  the  Cri- 
mea— ^the  soldiers  ?  What  broke  down  in  Cabul,  when 
the  Affghans  annihilated  a  British  force — the  soldier  ? 
No,  the  army  was  badly  officered.  Those  were  at  the 
foot  who  ought  to  have  been  at  the  head.  Is  it  not  a 
fact  that  the  English,  at  the  breaking  out  of  a  war,  count 
upon  losing  for  a  campaign  or  two,  till  the  incapable  of- 
ficers are  put  out  of  the  way,  and  men  fit  to  command 
turnup?" 

As  I  was  not  Secretary  for  War,  I  let  the  matter 
drop  as  soon  as  they  pleased,  feeling  that,  whatever 
might  be  the  rights  of  the  case,  it  was  not  in  good 
hands,  and  was  suffering  heavy  damage. 

Throughout  the  night  conversation  passed  upon  dif- 
ferent topics,  but  I  was  struck  with  this,  that  not  one 
word  was  uttered  on  any  point  connected  with  Savoy, 
Italy,  or  France,  their  relations  or  their  prospects — a 
tolerably  plain  indication  that  these  were  delicate  sub- 


ACEOSS   MONT  CENTS.  25 

jects.  When  the  others  had  fallen  asleep,  the  staff-of- 
ficer talked  a  little  to  me,  first  about  Savoy,  seeming 
honestly  to  wonder  that  England  should  object  to 
France  having  the  "  keys  of  her  own  house."  I  replied 
that  whether  France  would  be  better  or  worse  for  the 
possession  of  Savoy,  depended  on  the  correctness  of  an 
opinion  solemnly  pronounced  by  the  emperor  in  his 
grand  proclamation  from  Milan,  to  the  effect  that  in  the 
present  day  material  aggrandizement  was  not  so  valua- 
ble a  power  to  a  nation  as  moral  influence.  If  this  was 
correct,  he,  in  exchanging  the  prestige  of  a  disinterest- 
ed campaign  for  the  territorial  remuneration  of  a  prov- 
ince, sold  a  greater  for  a  lesser  power.  When  we  pass- 
ed on  to  speak  of  Italy,  he  was  quite  positive  that  the 
French  army  would  soon  be  recalled,  and  said  that  he 
had  it  direct  from  Marshal  Vaillant.  "  We  have  done 
what  we  could  for  them,  and  if  they  won't  take  our  ad- 
vice, we  must  leave  them  to  take  care  of  themselves. 
We  have  not  50,000  lives,  and  (I  forget  how  many) 
millions  of  francs,  to  throw  away  every  year  for  them." 
One  observation  rather  surprised  me.  "  You  have  no 
idea,"  he  said,  "  how  bad  a  feeling  the  Piedmontese  have 
toward  us.  If  one  of  their  officers  is  saluted  in  the  streets 
by  a  Frenchman,  he  looks  down  upon  him  {de  haut  en 
bas),  as  if  to  say, '  I  wonder  who  you  may  be.'  "  Of  the 
future  prospects  of  Italy  he  spoke  gloomily.  ''  If  Ca- 
vour,"  he  said,  "  could  have  his  own  way,  things  would 
be  brought  to  magnificent  results ;  but  he  is  thwarted 
by  many,  and  much  perplexed  by  the  rash  movements 

B 


26  ITALY   IN  TEANSITIOX. 

of  the  king/'  He  argued  that,  between  the  hot-headed 
patriots  on  one  side  and  the  j^riest  party  on  the  other, 
the  constitutional  throne  would  come  to  the  ground. 
This,  too,  had  been  the  vein  of  the  most  intelhgent  Sa- 
voyard I  heard  discussing  the  question.  But  the  latter 
said  that  they,  in  welcoming  annexation  with  France, 
counted  on  the  fall  of  the  Napoleon  dynasty  and  the 
restoration  of  the  national  liberties.  He  seemed  great- 
ly surprised  to  hear  me  say  that  in  England  we  wished 
to  see  some  dynasty  take  root  in  France,  caring  little 
which,  but  desiring  repose  for  our  neighbor  nation.  He 
had  counted  that  the  fall  of  a  Bonaparte  would  in  itself 
be  a  pleasant  anticij^ation  for  a  Briton. 

Throughout  the  night  not  an  oath  or  an  ungentle- 
manly  word  passed  the  lips  of  these  French  and  Italian 
soldiers. 

When  I  passed  the  mountain  before,  the  room  in  the 
quaint  inn  at  Lanslebourg  was  very  quiet,  with  an  old 
English  colonel,  well  known  in  India,  and  one  or  two 
other  travelers.  Now  there  was  a  large  crowd,  En- 
ghsh,  French,  Swiss,  Savoyards,  and  Italians,  all  talking 
their  various  languages,  and  many  of  them  in  unifoi-m. 
The  snow  here  lay  thick  upon  the  ground — thicker  than 
at  the  same  season  for  thirty  years.  Wheels  could 
work  no  higher  up  the  mountain,  sledges  had  to  be 
used ;  but  they  were  not  the  graceful  things  which  skim 
and  tinkle  along  the  streets  of  New  York  in  the  winter, 
but  simply  diligences  mounted  on  sledges  instead  of 
wheels.    All  the  enormous  baggage  had  to  be  unloaded 


ACEOSS   MONT   CENIS.  27 

and  loaded  in  the  snow.  I  watched  our  own  conductor, 
and  wondered  at  his  industry,  good-humor,  and  address. 
When  all  was  over,  what  a  hurried  snatch  of  food  he 
had  by  way  of  supper  !  But  with  all  this  he  was  cheer- 
ful as  a  lark  and  civil  as  a  gentleman.  We  were  soon 
packed  in  again,  and  the  crunch,  crunch,  crunch  of  the 
sledges  upon  the  snow  began,  and  the  smoking  com- 
menced anew. 

Up  and  up,  amid  seas  of  snow,  in  rolling  waves, 
threatening  hills,  and  yawning  gulfs.  Across  these 
gulfs  stretched  mysterious  lines,  which,  in  the  snowy 
night-light,  looked  as  if  the  dazzled  eye  were  forming 
fancy  cords  in  air.  When  we  paused  near  one  of  the 
long  stretches,  the  lines  hummed  like  fairy  bees  haunt- 
ing the  dells  of  snow.  It  is  the  song  of  the  wire,  mur- 
muring the  music  of  nature's  joy  at  the  union  of  long- 
sundered  peoples.  It  is  the  voice  of  Him  who  delights 
in  the  habitable  parts  of  the  earth,  and  who  has  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men.  Hefe,  over  the  ever- 
lasting hills,  Italy  and  England  are  mingling  thought 
and  impulse ;  so  that  while  the  lamp  kindled  at  Turin 
for  a  triumph  of  Italy  is  yet  burning,  eyes  beam  at  the 
news  around  London  firesides.  Yolta  and  Wheatstone, 
the  suggestive  genius  of  Italy,  the  plastic  power  of 
England,  are  forevermore  united  in  those  wires ;  and 
though,  for  the  time,  they  bear  news  of  wars,  their 
work  is  the  work  of  peace. 

Up  and  up,  Alps  in  front,  Alps  to  the  left,  Alps  to 
the  right,  Alps  closing  in  behind ;  up  with  the  morning 


28  IT.VLY    IN   TRANSITION. 

star  glowing  above  the  unbroken  snow,  up  winding, 
winding,  winding  summits  above,  chasms  below,  huge 
shades  flung  over  the  mountain  sides,  and  frail-looking 
pines  hanging  on  the  crags — up  and  up,  wearily  for  the 
horses,  cozily  for  us.  Foot-warmers  had  been  borrow- 
ed from  the  railway,  and  rugs  and  wraps  were  made 
unexpectedly  useless.  At  last  came  a  halt.  "  Monsieur, 
something  for  the  ascent,"  says  a  postilhon  at  the  win- 
dow, and  he  takes  his  leave. 

Then  down  we  slide — not  as  rapidly  as  in  the  former 
descent  described ;  and  after  a  long  run  we  reach  the 
edge  of  the  deep  snow,  where  the  diligences  are  waiting. 
The  sun  w^as  just  coming  up  over  the  shoulder  of  an 
eastward  jutting  of  the  mountains — ^he  might  have  been 
leaning  upon  it.  The  hills  behind  were  white,  and  va- 
rious, and  grand ;  before,  was  stretching  the  valley 
wherein  formerly  the  cloud  had  given  us  the  shining 
spectacle  of  a  glacier.  An  Alpine  village  down,  down, 
oh  how  far  downrf  was  sending  up  its  morning  smoke. 
Where  it  lay,  not  a  particle  of  snow  was  upon  the 
ground.  Beyond  it,  the  Dora,  a  little  river  which  joins 
the  Po  at  Turin,  was  racing  away  to  the  great  plain, 
looking  just  as  it  had  done  when  I  saw  it  last,  though 
in  the  mean  time  the  legions  of  France  had  hurried 
along  it  to  victory  or  death,  and  had  marched  back 
again,  some  carrying  with  them  their  wounds,  some 
mementoes  of  comrades  who  would  never  return. 

After  all  the  packing  had  been  done  over  again,  we 
were  once  more  in  the  diligences,  leaving  our  sledges 


ACEOSS  MONT  CENIS.  29 

behind.  As  the  porter  put  in  the  foot-warmers,  one  of 
the  French  officers,  finding  that,  by  this  time,  all  the 
heat  was  gone,  said,  with  a  laugh,  "  This  is  Uke  con- 
fession. If  it  does  no  good,  it  does  no  harm."  We 
had  then  a  little  talk,  and  the  staff-officer  said  to  me, 
"  The  Holy  Father  will  soon  blow  np  {va  Mentot  saii^ 
ter),  and  where  they'll  put  him,  who  knows  ?" 

The  next  time  we  crossed  Mont  Cenis  it  was  far  more 
difficult  work.  Fresh  snow  had  just  fallen ;  the  wind 
was  blowing  high;  the  cold  pierced  through  every 
thing ;  the  poor  beasts  shrank  and  turned  round  again 
and  again ;  the  eyelashes  of  the  men  were  frozen.  One 
of  the  sledges  was  stuck  fast  more  than  an  hour  and  a 
half  in  a  wreath  of  snow,  and  the  great,  mild  mastiff  of 
the  St.  Bernard  breed  kept  alongside,  as  if  he  thought 
he  might  be  wanted ;  but  by  the  skill,  caution,  and  un- 
failing good-humor  of  all  the  men,  every  thing  went  on 
well ;  and  after  such  a  night's  toil,  one  could  not  but 
feel  grateful  to  the  poor  fellows  who,  for  a  miserable 
pittance,  endure  such  hardships,  watching  for  the  safety 
of  those  whom  they  have  never  seen  before,  and  may 
never  see  again. 


Cjmiitn  iii. 

TURIN  DURING  THE  VOTING  UPON  ANNEXATION 
IN  CENTRAL  ITALY. 


In  the  railway  carriage  from  Susa  we  had  an  Italian 
lady  and  gentleman.  Both  were  rather  inclined  to  talk 
of  the  French  as  shallow  and  vain.  Of  England  they 
were  profoundly  ignorant,  and  learned  particulars  as  to 
our  Constitution  with  frank  surprise  and  sometimes 
with  loud  approbation.  The  lady  was  from  Florence, 
and  disliked  the  idea  of  its  becoming  a  provincial  city ; 
the  gentleman  from  Milan,  and  gloried  in  the  new  state 
of  things.  In  my  explanations  about  England,  I  dwelt 
on  our  views  of  Christianity.  The  lady  listened  with 
eagerness,  the  gentleman  rather  uneasily,  taking  every 
opportunity  of  dashing  back  to  politics. 

The  day  was  beautiful,  and  as  the  valley  of  the  Po 
opened  out,  backed  and  fringed  by  the  purple  hills  and 
the  snow  summits,  with  the  old  castles  so  high,  high 
up,  and  the  quaint  carts  and  clumsy  horses,  brown  men 
and  stately  asses,  the  trellised  vines,  the  mulberries,  the 
English  steam-horse  racing  merrily,  and,  above  aU,  the 
rich  Italian  light,  it  acted  like  a  charm  upon  the  spirits, 
and  prepared  one  to  hail  Turin. 

On  first  entering  Turin  I  was  more  taken  by  sur- 
prise than  in  any  capital  I  had  visited.  Nothing  had 
B2 


34  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

led  me  to  expect  a  city  of  such  pretensions.  It  is 
regular,  open,  and  very  beautiful.  The  site  is  level, 
the  streets  rectangular,  and  the  buildings  more  uniform, 
perhaps,  than  in  any  other  capital.  Yet,  partly  by  the 
help  of  nature,  partly  by  that  of  architecture,  the  im- 
pression of  sameness  is  hardly  made,  or,  at  least,  was 
not  on  me.  Two  notable  examples  of  regular  cities  are 
Carlsruhe,  the  type  of  concentric  regularity,  and  Phila- 
delphia that  of  the  rectangular.  The  former  is  oppress- 
ively dull,  and  the  latter,  noble  city  as  it  is,  becomes 
wearisome.  But  in  Turin,  the  grand  height  and  scale 
of  the  buildings,  with  the  abundance  of  architectural 
ornament,  prevents  dullness  in  the  street-fronts ;  and, 
turn  whatever  side  you  may,  all  openings  terminate  in 
a  mountain.  Sometimes  it  is  a  hill,  thick  set  with  villas, 
on  what  is  called  "  the  CoUina,"  or  southern  chain,  and 
sometimes  it  is  one  of  the  Alps.  In  the  street  called 
"  the  Dora  Grossa"  you  have  a  line,  nearly  an  English 
mile  long,  terminated  on  one  side  by  the  fagade  of  a 
palace,  on  the  other  by  an  Alp  nine  thousand  feet 
high. 

The  Po,  though  here  not  nearly  such  a  river  as  the 
Thames  at  London,  is  so  treated  as  to  be  a  great  orna- 
ment to  the  town ;  and  the  street  leading  up  from  it 
toward  the  palace  is  really  grand,  with  a  row  of  porti- 
coes on  each  side,  and  behind  a  great  church,  the  Madre 
di  Dio^  like  the  Pantheon  of  Rome. 

At  my  second  visit  I  expected  to  be  less  impressed 
than  at  the  first ;  but  here  it  was,  the  same  grand,  uni- 


TUEIN.  35 

form,  airy  city,  worthy  to  be  the  capital  of  the  young 
kingdom.  It  looks  as  if  some  one  had  formed  a  noble 
design,  and  had  it  nobly  carried  out.  What  a  contrast 
to  London,  which,  up  and  down,  in  and  out,  squat,  clay- 
colored,  without  plan  or  dignity  except  in  the  squares, 
having  occasionally  a  new  street  struggling  up  to  a 
worthy  scale,  and  in,  perhaps,  two  of  the  modern  quar- 
ters, proofs  of  design,  looks  as  if  it  had  not  been  made, 
but  had  "  grown,"  like  Topsy  and  the  British  Constitu- 
tion !  Yet  it  has  incomparable  sites.  Were  Holborn 
and  Oxford  Street,  Ludgate  Hill  and  the  Strand,  built 
on  some  such  scale  as  the  streets  of  Turin,  what  a  city 
it  would  be  I  Were  the  line  from  the  Marble  Arch  to 
Bayswater  turned  properly  to  account,  the  Rue  Rivoli 
would  be  beaten  hollow.  Were  the  existing  quantity 
of  sightly  building  disposed  upon  some  great  plan,  no 
capital  could  touch  it.  Had  that  old  glutton  of  a  cor- 
poration spent  half  the  money  on  men  of  genius  it  has 
done  on  cooks  and  butchers,  instead  of  every  foreigner 
returning  from  London  to  tell  what  a  heap  of  dingy 
villages  we  live  in,  they  would  come  back  to  say  that 
London  was  the  worthy  mansion  of  a  great  family. 
What  influence  France  gains  by  the  beauty  of  Paris, 
and  how  much  we  lose  by  the  ugliness  of  London! 
The  capital  is  to  a  nation  what  the  family-seat  is  to  an 
individual,  and  has  as  much  to  do  with  its  social  influ- 
ence in  the  circle  of  its  neighbors.  Our  damp  climate 
and  quantities  of  coal-smoke  impose  upon  us  greater 
necessity  for  attention  to  civic  architecture  than  lies 


36  ITALY   IN  TEANSITION. 

upon  Others ;  for  an  inferior  building  in  France  or  Italy- 
will  look  better  than  a  superior  one  in  London ;  and 
yet,  in  this  respect,  we  have  lain  complacently  behind 
our  neicfhbors. 

On  leaving  the  railway  station  you  almost  immedi- 
ately cross  a  noble  street,  planted  on  either  side  with 
trees,  the  Strada  del  Re.  Here,  in  a  conspicuous  place, 
is  a  beautiful  buUding,  bearing  the  inscription,  "  Stand 
ye  in  the  ways,  and  see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths,  where 
is  the  good  way,  and  walk  therein,  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  for  your  souls."  "What  can  this  mean?  It  is  a 
church ;  and  yet,  in  Italy,  churches  are  not  wont  to 
have  inscriptions  from  the  word  of  God  in  the  vulgar 
tongue.  You  may  go  through  all  the  cities,  from  Como 
to  Syracuse,  and  perhaps  you  will  not  find,  on  the  house 
of  God,  one  word  of  the  Bible  that  the  people  can  read, 
either  inside  or  out. 

What,  then,  is  this  ?  It  is  an  appeal  to  antiquity, 
but  an  appeal  to  the  Bible,  and  a  challenge  to  read  it. 
You  ask  the  first  passer-by,  "  What  is  this  building  ?" 
and  the  answer  is,  "  It  is  the  church  of  the  Vaudois." 
What  recollections  does  this  answer  call  up !  By  those 
strange  flashes  which  show  to  the  mind,  in  a  moment, 
the  shades  of  past  things,  you  see  the  Alpine  valleys 
hidden  there  among  those  hiUs — the  obscure  and  men- 
aced flocks  gathering  at  their  peril,  and  hearing  the 
Word  of  God ;  you  see  the  advancing  soldiers  of  the 
house  of  Savoy ;  then  fire  and  blood,  tortures  and  ex- 
iles, and  the  same  scene  over  and  over  again,  at  each 


TUKIN.  37 

fresh  encounter  the  hands  of  Rome  growing  redder, 
the  name  of  Vaudois  more  venerable,  until  reformed 
nations  arise  to  call  them  heirs  of  the  old  faith — until, 
later,  the  thunders  of  the  revolutionary  time  silence  the 
bolts  of  the  Vatican — until,  at  last,  at  last,  the  chains 
they  had  borne  for  ages  are  off,  and  they  are  permitted, 
as  citizens,  to  stand  erect  upon  the  soil  of  Italy.  And 
here  that  old  church,  true  from  the  beginning,  true 
through  the  darkest  ages,  true  against  all  the  kings, 
true  against  the  people  of  her  own  language,  true 
against  the  powers  Rome  could  bring  to  bear  upon 
her  by  letters  or  by  arms,  is  at  last  permitted  to  come 
out  from  her  mountain  hiding-place,  holding  the  faith 
she  had  received  from  her  remotest  fathers ;  and,  set- 
ting her  foot  in  this  one  free  capital  of  Italy,  she  turns 
her  face  to  the  land  that  hunted  her  so  long,  and  lifts 
up  lier  hands  in  prayer  that  God  would  wipe  away  the 
blood  with  which  it  is  stained,  and  send  it  days  of 
Christian  light  and  rest. 

It  was  on  a  beautiful  Sunday  morning,  with  such 
thoughts  filling  my  mind,  that  I  approached  that  fair 
temple.  A  group  was  standing  at  the  door :  they  were 
soldiers — soldiers  of  the  house  of  Savoy,  going  in  uni- 
form to  the  Vaudois  temple,  not  to  commit  havoc,  but 
to  worship  God  under  the  protection  of  law.  I  never 
looked  at  a  foreign  soldier  with  such  interest  before. 
A  medal  hung  upon  the  breast  of  one  or  two,  looking 
like  a  half-crown  piece ;  but,  ugly  as  it  was,  it  had  a 
greater  charm  for  me,  just  then,  than  the  more  tasteful 


38  ITALY   IN   TKANSmON. 

ones  of  the  Continental  states  —  the  countenance  of 
Queen  Victoria  was  stamped  upon  it.  It  was  her  Cri- 
mean memento  to  the  heroes  of  the  Italian  army  who 
had  there  stood  by  our  side.  By  the  two  signs  of  the 
Piedmontese  uniform  and  the  English  medal,  it  seemed 
as  if  the  houses  of  Hanover  and  Savoy  joined  hands  on 
this  church  threshold  to  uphold  the  consecrated  prmci- 
ple  of  freedom  to  worship  God. 

In  this  church  I  attended  services  in  the  French  and 
Italian  languages,  and  in  the  adjacent  school-rooms 
week-day  services  in  both.  On  one  of  the  latter  occa- 
fsions  the  excellent  Pastor  Meille  brought  out,  with  great 
effect,  the  fact  that  the  first  Gentile  who  had  received 
the  Gospel  was  an  Italian,  and  dwelt  on  the  special  ob- 
ligation which  rested  upon  their  countrymen  to  cherish 
the  pure  Christian  religion,  and  to  spread  it  far  and 
wide.  Attached  to  the  church  are  a  boys',  girls',  and 
infants'  schools,  and  an  orphanage.  The  children  in  the 
latter  are  of  Yaudois  parents,  who  are  lodged  on  the 
premises,  and  put  out  to  learn  trades  in  Turin,  to  be 
sent  back  to  the  valleys,  carrying  with  them  the  arts 
they  have  gained  here.  Under  the  same  roof  is  a  print- 
ing-office, with  two  presses  at  work ;  and  we  saw  them 
throwing  off  the  New  Testament  in  large  type.  They 
have  already  a  very  considerable  number  of  religious 
books,  and  regularly  publish  a  paper  called  "  The  Good 
News,"  which  boldly  advocates  the  principles  of  scrip- 
tural religion. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  Yaudois  is,  that  tln'v  cmi  not 


TUKIN.  39 

properly  be  called  Protestants,  because,  never  having 
acknowledged  the  authority  of  Rome,  or  fallen  into  her 
errors,  they  never  had  to  protest  against  them  other- 
wise than  by  the  perpetual  struggle  of  centuries.  They 
are  an  aboriginal  Christian  Church,  holding  the  forms 
and  the  doctrines  handed  down  from  the  most  distant 
Christian  times. 

Every  time  I  renewed  my  intercourse  with  Mr.  Meille 
it  was  with  increased  esteem ;  and  all  I  saw  of  the  Yau- 
dois  brethren  and  their  agents  in  other  parts  of  Italy 
but  confirmed  the  opinion  I  had  conceived  of  them,  and 
increased  the  affection  with  which  all  Reformed  Chris- 
tians are  predisposed  to  regard  them. 

Besides  their  congregation,  another  exists  in  the 
town,  presided  over  by  a  very  remarkable  man.  Dr.  De- 
santis,  formerly  a  parish  priest  in  the  city  of  Rome. 
He  has  now  for  many  years  stood  his  ground  as  a  pas- 
tor upon  Italian  soil ;  and  active  as  Rome  is  in  invent- 
ing calumnies  against  every  one  w^hom  she  calls  an 
apostate  priest,  his  name  stands  unblemished.  Far 
away  from  the  present  scene  of  his  labors,  when  it  ap- 
pears upon  the  title-page  of  a  book,  it  insures  a  large 
circle  of  readers.  He  is  a  grave,  thoughtful,  silent,  earn- 
est man,  with  the  stamp  of  a  teacher  upon  him ;  and 
one  would  greatly  desire  to  see  him  occuj^ying  some 
position  in  which  the  gifts  that  God  has  given  him 
would  tell  more  directly  in  training  minds  for  the  fu- 
ture enlightenment  of  his  country.  The  converts  at- 
tached to  these  two  churches  are  principally  from  the 


40  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

lower  ranks,  though  many  of  them  persons  of  education 
and  mtelligence.  The  numbers  are  sufficient  to  encour- 
age those  who  labor  there,  yet,  as  compared  with  the 
great  mass  of  the  community,  so  small  as  to  make  no 
general  impression ;  and  thus  both  the  casual  observer 
who  thinks  all  is  in  vain,  and  the  practical  worker  who 
thinks  all  hopeful,  can  easily  cite  grounds  for  their  re- 
spective opinions. 

On  reaching  Turin  this  spring,  we  found  the  city 
wearing  a  gala-day  look,  flags  hanging  from  the  win- 
dows, streets  teeming  with  people,  troops  in  full  dress 
and  new  uniform,  festive  looks,  jubilant  crowds  —  all 
things  bespoke  a  rejoicing. 

A  visit  to  a  hairdresser  is  seldom  lost  time  when  you 
want  to  gain  a  ghmpse  at  the  popular  mind.  It  only 
needed  an  inquiry  to  set  off  the  man  who  was  serving 
me  in  an  eloquent  strain  of  exultation.  The  news  of 
the  voting  in  Central  Italy  was  coming  in ;  it  was  all  in 
favor  of  annexation.  It  was  far  beyond  what  any  one 
expected.  There  was  to  be  an  Italian  kingdom.  The 
Italians  were  to  be  united  at  last.  The  old  jealousies 
were  dying  out.  Also,  this  was  the  king's  birthday, 
and  he  was  to  go  to  the  theatre  to-night ;  and  what  a 
reception  he  would  have !  Then,  in  a  day  or  two,  Fa- 
rini  was  to  come  in  from  the  jiEmilia  to  lay  the  allegi- 
ance of  those  states  at  the  feet  of  the  king ;  and  in  a 
day  or  two  more  Ricasoli  was  to  come  bearing  the  re- 
sult of  the  voting  in  Tuscany ;  and  what  receptions  they 
would  both  have !     And  so  on  he  ran  in  a  tide  of  patri- 


TUEm.  41 

otic  eloquence.  How  different  was  this  man's  strain 
from  that  of  a  Frenchman  under  any  thing  hke  similar 
circumstances !  There  was  as  much  feeling ;  but,  in- 
tense as  it  was,  he  was  grave,  almost  solemn,  and,  what 
I  did  not  expect,  there  was  scarcely  an  extravagant 
word.  If  he  was  a  fair  specimen  of  men  of  his  class, 
the  intelligence  of  the  people  of  Turin  ought  to  rank 
high. 

In  the  streets  one  was  greatly  impressed  with  the 
appearance  of  the  soldiers ;  for,  being  the  king's  birth- 
day, they  were  all  in  new  uniform,  and  better-dressed 
men  I  never  saw  belonging  to  any  army,  or  men  of  finer 
physical  proportions.  So  far  as  one  could  judge,  they 
were  in  strict  discipline,  and  every  where  the  towns- 
people seemed  to  look  upon  them  with  pride.  As  some 
regiments  marched  up  before  the  palace,  carrying  flags 
that  were  gloriously  tattered,  scarcely  able  to  hang  by 
the  staff,  the  excitement  of  the  people  was  high. 

Several  points  seemed  to  indicate  the  progress  of 
events  in  the  last  few  years.  The  streets  were  more 
thronged.  The  bearing  of  the  people  was  bolder  and 
hveher.  The  style  of  dress  for  men  approached  nearer 
to  English  fashions.  It  seemed  plain  that  (except  the 
hat)  London  ruled  the  taste  for  gentlemen,  as  Paris  does 
that  for  ladies.  At  the  tahle  d^hote  the  company  was 
much  larger ;  and,  instead  of  being  nearly  all  foreigners 
— English,  American,  German,  and  so  on — it  consisted 
chiefly  of  ItaUans,  and  national  topics  occupied  almost 
every  tongue. 


42  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

Entering  a  merchant's  office,  I  delivered  a  letter  of 
introduction,  and  found  a  cordial  reception.  Two  part- 
ners took  part  in  the  conversation.  "  What  a  moment 
you  come  at!"  they  exclaimed:  "what  a  moment!  The 
voting  in  Central  Italy  is  all  favorable  to  the  annexa- 
tion. We  did  not  expect  such  a  magnificent  result. 
Italy  never  saw  such  a  day !  We  are  a  nation — a  na- 
tion at  last !  We  may  have  troubles,  and  doubtless  w^e 
shall  have;  but  I  have  confidence  that  it  will  all  be 
well."  With  reference  to  the  past,  they  seemed  to 
think  that  the  Emperor  of  the  French  was  well  paid  by 
Savoy,  and  that,  however  serviceable  he  had  been,  they 
had  acquitted  their  debts  to  him. 

When  I  asked  what  the  bearing  of  all,  this  would  be 
upon  the  relation  of  the  ItaUan  people  to  the  Church,  it 
w^as  plain  that  this  was  just  the  point  upon  which  their 
views  were  the  most  undefined,  and  on  which  they  were 
eager  to  hear  what  others  might  think.  I  told  them 
plainly  that,  according  to  our  ideas,  many  of  the  super- 
stitions and  doctrines  found  in  the  modern  churches 
were  not  only  distinct  from  the  true  Christian  religion, 
but  totally  opposed  to  it.  The  old  man  looked  as 
though  a  familiar  doubt  slumbering  in  his  mind  had 
been  started  up,  and  armed.  I  urged  that  we  ought  to 
learn  religion  from  Christ's  own  words,  the  words  of 
His  apostles,  the  faith  and  forms  of  the  first  age.  No 
man  could  believe  that  what  they  saw  before  their  eyes 
in  Italy,  under  the  name  of  Christianity,  was  the  same 
thing  as  had  been  established  eighteen  centuries  ago  by 


TUEIN.  43 

the  apostles  of  our  Lord ;  and  the  duty  of  all  was  to 
discover  the  ancient  truths  and  forms,  to  adhere  to 
them,  and  to  let  all  the  accretions  of  the  middle  and 
modern  ages  fall  away.  In  reply  to  all  this,  nothing 
was  said,  but  the  dark  eyes  looked  approbation. 

After  all  that  I  had  heard  among  the  Savoyards  of 
their  anxiety  for  annexation  to  France,  it  was  rather 
amusing  to  find  that  these  Piedmontese  took  it  for 
granted  that  the  measure  would  be  unwelcome  to  the 
people  of  Savoy.  They  were  specially  sure  that  when 
it  came  to  voting  in  the  army,  the  great  majority  of  the 
men,  and  all  the  officers,  would  be  for  retaining  their 
connection  with  Piedmont.  Indeed,  the  fact  had  been 
ascertained. 

In  another  house  of  business  I  found  a  young,  ener- 
getic, thoughtful  man,  who  again  received  me  with  very 
great  kindness.  "  You  are  come,"  he  exclaimed,  "  at  a 
glorious  moment ;  you  have  heard  of  the  voting  for  the 
annexation ;  all  is  going  far  better  than  we  could  have 
expected.  The  Emperor  of  the  French  will  surely  be 
satisfied  now,  and  stand  no  longer  in  the  way  of  the  nat- 
ural rights  of  Italy.  We  have  been  divided  and  dis- 
tracted too  long  by  princes  and  diplomatists ;  it  is  sure- 
ly time,  then,  to  let  nature  have  its  course,  and  Italy 
will  be  a  nation  after  all.  England  has  stood  by  us,  and 
we  feel  it  now  much  more  than  we  did  a  while  ago." 
When  I  asked  him  whether  he  thought  they  had  a  fair 
probability  that  the  new  nation  would  consolidate  itself 
and  retain  its  independence,  he  acknowledged  that  their 


44:  ITALY   IN  TKAKSrnON. 

difficulties  would  be  great,  arising  from  Austrian  and 
Roman  hatred  and  French  jealousy,  but  he  felt  confi- 
dent as  to  the  future. 

When  I  gave  a  hint  that  it  would  probably  be  better 
not  to  attempt  to  revolutionize  the  provinces  still  in 
bonds,  but  to  consohdate  the  new  kingdom,  and  leave 
time,  and  the  example  of  free  institutions,  to  do  their 
work,  he  energetically  protested  against  the  common 
accusation  that  their  government  maintained  a  great 
propagandist  agency  for  the  overthrow  of  the  other 
governments  of  Italy.  "  Of  course,"  he  said,  "  it  would 
be  impossible  to  be  an  Italian,  or  a  man  living  under 
free  institutions,  such  as  we  have  enjoyed  for  some  years 
past,  and  see  the  rest  of  the  country  in  the  miserable 
condition  it  has  been  in,  without  burning  for  its  deliv- 
erance, and  its  union  into  one  strong  and  independent 
nation.  All  that  have  any  heart  or  head  desire  this, 
and  avow  it  before  the  world.  But  as  to  propagand- 
ism,  the  real  propaganda  has  been  our  institutions — our 
ParUament,  which  has  discussed  national  questions ;  our 
press,  which  has  gone  every  where,  spreading  Italian 
ideas ;  our  army,  fighting  the  Austrians  and  the  Rus- 
sians, and  fixing  upon  itself  the  eyes  of  Italy ;  our  ref- 
ugees, gathered  from  all  the  oppressed  states,  mana- 
ging to  make  their  friends  at  home  know  how  different 
things  were  under  the  Constitution ;  and,  most  of  all, 
Cavour — Papa  Cavour" — and  this  word  was  uttered  in 
tones  of  peculiar  affection  and  exultant  confidence.  "  He 
has  80  thoroughly  gained  the  confidence  of  all  Italians, 


TURIN.  45 

that  they  rally  round  him  as  the  symbol  of  the  national 
Ufe,  and  wherever  his  name  is  heard  of  they  wish  to  be 
united  with  the  system  he  represents.  He  is  the  great 
pro]3aganda  by  force  of  patriotism  and  talent." 

In  the  letter  of  introduction  something  was  said 
which  led  him  to  ask  me  if  I  was  not  an  ecclesiastic. 
"  Yes,  I  am  what  we  call  '  a  minister'  or  '  pastor,'  but 
it  is  not  the  same  as  a  priest."  He  wanted  to  know 
the  difference.  "  The  differences  are  as  great  as  can  be. 
A  priest  is  one  who  professes  daily  to  repeat  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Son  of  God,  and  offer  it  up  again  for  sin.  In 
our  view,  as  taught  by  the  ISTew  Testament,  this  is  not 
only  without  a  sanction  in  Christianity,  but  wildly  con- 
tradictory to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  its  teaching  and  to 
the  example  of  the  apostles.  They  ever  speak  of  one 
Priest  only,  Jesus  Christ,  who  offered  Himself  up  a 
sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world ;  and  that  sacri- 
fice, once  for  all,  never  more  to  be  repeated  or  simula- 
ted. We  should  as  soon  think  of  professing  to  repeat 
His  miraculous  birth  or  His  resurrection  as  His  one 
great  sacrifice  of  Himself."  To  him  this  distinction 
was  new  and  striking.  "  Again,  a  priest  is  one  who 
tells  you  that,  as  he  represents  an  infallible  Church,  you 
have  only  to  confide  your  soul,  in  matters  of  salvation, 
to  his  guidance,  and  that  he  will  be  answerable ;  that 
if  you  obey  him,  or  the  Church  speaking  through  him, 
you  have  discharged  your  responsibility ;  and  thus, 
when  you  j^ut  the  greatest  question  that  a  man  can  put, 
*  What  must  I  do  to  obtain  remission  of  my  sins  ?'  he 


46  IT^U^Y    IX   TKANSITIOX. 

tells  you  to  go  to  him,  to  confide  them  all  into  his  ear, 
and  that  he  will  give  you  God's  absolution.  This  is 
what  no  apostle  ever  did.  It  is  a  tremendous  transac- 
tion between  two  men,  of  which  we  find  no  record  or 
hint  in  any  part  of  the  New  Testament.  When  men 
came  to  St.  Peter,  asking  him  what  they  must  do  to  be 
saved,  he  never  told  them  that  they  must  go  privately 
with  him,  confide  the  detail  of  their  sins  to  him,  and  re- 
ceive at  his  hand  the  Lord's  absolution,  as  if  he  were  a 
power  standing  between  them  and  God.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  told  them  simply  to  '  repent  of  their  sins,  and 
believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  lie  instructed  them, 
set  them  an  example  of  Cln-istian  life,  preached  to  them, 
held  meetings  for  edification  and  prayer  with  them,  but 
he  never  assumed  to  be  a  necessary  medium  between 
them  and  their  Maker." 

*'  Then,"  he  said,  "  according  to  you,  the  priest,  in- 
stead of  being  a  sort  of  little  god  on  earth,  is  just  a 
spiritual  friend  and  director  ?'*  "  Yes,"  I  said ;  "  and 
not  a  director  in  the  absolute  sense  in  which  the  Church 
of  Rome  uses  that  word ;  because  we,  as  Christian  min- 
isters, feel  that  what  we  teach  must  be  strictly  accord- 
ing to  the  "Word  of  God ;  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
Christian  people  to  receive  it  not  implicitly  because  we 
say  it,  but  to  prove  it  by  reading  the  Scriptures  for 
themselves,  and  seeing  that  what  they  hear  is  not  the 
word  of  man,  but  is,  in  truth,  the  old  teaching  of  j^roph- 
ets  and  apostles.  The  work  of  the  minister  is  to  in- 
struct, and  lead,  and  guide  the  Church,  but  at  every 


TUEIN.  47 

point  basing  his  authority  and  doctrine  upon  the  Scrip- 
tures, and,  above  all,  ever  pointing  the  trust  of  the  peo- 
ple away  from  himself  and  his  own  offices  to  the  one 
sacrifice  of  Christ,  ofiered  upon  the  cross,  and  to  His 
everlasting  priesthood  fulfilled  in  heaven  for  us." 

It  was  strange  the  interest  w^ith  which  this  was  list- 
ened to — an  interest  partly  of  novelty,  partly  of  poli- 
tics, because  every  such  question  at  the  moment  bore 
upon  the  great  national  movement,  and  partly,  let  us 
hope,  of  a  true  desire  to  know  what  Reformed  Chris- 
tians really  thought  upon  the  great  question  of  religion. 
"  Then,"  I  said,  smiling,  "  there  is  another  great  differ- 
ence :  the  priest  is  sworn  not  to  marry ;  but  we  believe 
that  as  St.  Peter  was  a  married  man,  and  as  St.  Paul 
■  says  a  bishop  ought  to  be,  ministers  of  the  Gospel  should 
marry  if  they  choose."  He  did  not  smile,  but,  Avith  a 
shade  on  his  face,  said,  "Ah !  then,  the  minister  is  a  cit- 
izen, and  has  ties  to  the  country  like  other  men." 

So  far  as  I  could  discover,  this  gentleman  had  no  dis- 
position to  reject  Christianity  entirely  because  of  the 
disgust  felt  at  much  that  is  palmed  upon  the  people  un- 
der its  sacred  name.  After  we  had  talked  a  good  while 
upon  the  distinction  between  priest  and  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  he  said  that  a  movement  had  set  in  among  the 
Piedmontese  clergy,  many  of  them  having  resolved  no 
longer  to  confound  the  temporal  with  the  spiritual  au- 
thority of  the  Pope,  and  he  thought  that  the  great  body 
of  them  would  go  with  the  nation.  My  first  impression 
was  that  such  a  party  would  include  two  classes — free- 


48  n'ALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

thinking  j^atriots  and  cunning  self-seekers;  the  con- 
scientious Roman  priest  who  believes  in  the  Church 
would  be  on  the  other  side.  It  is  easy  for  EngUshmen 
to  say  that  none  of  the  priests  do  believe  in  their  own 
system ;  that  it  is  impossible  men  can  believe  so  much 
absurdity ;  but  the  fact  is,  that  there  is  no  absurdity  in 
which  men  can  not  and  do  not  believe :  all  absurdities 
exist  simply  because  somebody  does  believe  in  them. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  large  bodies  of  priests,  as 
well  as  laymen,  as  conscientiously  believe  in  the  Church 
of  Rome,  its  dogmas,  rites,  and  traditions,  as  any  man 
in  England  believes  in  his  Bible. 

Much  that  I  subsequently  heard  in  various  2)laces 
modified  the  first  impression  as  to  the  elements  of 
which  the  national  party  among  the  priests  would  be 
composed.  Besides  the  honest  papist,  whose  con- 
science would  hold  him  to  the  Vatican,  the  free-think- 
ing j^atriot,  and  the  time-server,  there  is  a  fourth  class 
— ^priests  who  believe  in  religion,  and  have  enough  faith 
in  the  Church  to  prevent  them  from  breaking  with  her, 
or  too  much  fear  of  consequences  to  brave  the  loss  of 
all,  and  the  malediction  of  their  brethren ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  are  sensible  of  the  mental  bondage  in  which 
they  are  held,  doubtful  of  many  things  sanctioned  by 
Rome,  and  wishing  in  their  hearts  that,  without  incur- 
ring the  hated  brand  of  heresy,  they  could  see  their 
way  to  a  Church  more  resembling  the  one  they  find  in 
such  snatches  of  the  Bible  as  they  know,  or  such  rec- 
ords of  the  first  three  centuries  as  they  ever  read  at 


TUEIN.  49 

first  hand.  This  class  is  generally  represented  as  nu- 
merous by  men  who  are  acquainted  with  the  inner 
places  of  the  priesthood. 

From  a  gentleman  so  placed  as  to  have  the  very  best 
political  information,  I  learned  that  they  were  daily  ex- 
pecting from  Rome  a  Bull  excommunicating  the  king. 
"  To  you  and  me,"  he  said,  "  this  may  appear  nothing" 
(for  he  was  an  Englishman)  ;  "  but  the  king  is  a  Roman 
Catholic,  brought  up  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  there  is  no 
telling  what  effect  it  may  produce  upon  his  mind."  I 
resolved  to  try  what  Italians  would  say  upon  this  sub- 
ject. The  first  to  whom  I  named  it  was  a  thoroughly 
intelligent  merchant.  He  simply  laughed  at  it,  and 
said  that  it  might  scare  a  few  women  in  country  places, 
but  that  was  all.  As  to  the  men,  or  the  people  of  the 
towns,  it  would  produce  no  effect  upon  them  whatever. 
"  What  did  I  think  of  it  ?"  .  I  was  free  enough  to  say 
that  to  me  it  appeared  not  so  much  in  the  light  of  a 
political  absurdity  as  of  a  great  wickedness.  To  curse 
ten  millions  of  people  in  the  name  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion on  account  of  a  political  movement  was  surely  a 
bad,  a  horrible  action.  If  it  had  any  effect  at  all,  it  put 
the  souls  of  those  people  outside  of  the  kingdom  of 
grace.  "  Cursing,"  I  said,  "  is  not  a  Christian  work,  but 
blessing.  Christ  and  his  apostles  suffered  much  at  the 
hands  of  all  kinds  of  men :  they  fearlessly  and  tremen- 
dously denounced  sin  and  classes  of  sinners,  exhibiting 
against  them  the  future  judgment  and  just  condemna- 
tion of  God.     But  what  persecutor  or  opponent  did 

C 


50  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

they  ever  curse?"  He  rubbed  his  hands  and  said, 
"  Ah !  but  Rome  is  used  to  cursing." 

I  next  mentioned  the  subject  to  a  banker  in  his  office. 
He  treated  it  just  in  the  same  way.  "  Excommunica- 
tion was  w^ell  enough  in  past  centm*ies.  It  has  been 
tried  too  often.  It  has  no  terrors  now ;  it  only  dis- 
gusts people  to  see  an  attempt  to  use  sph-itual  arms  for 
a  poHtical  end.  Besides,  it  can  have  no  effect  unless  it 
be  pubUshed  in  the  country,  and  the  government  will 
take  care  that  it  shall  not  be  so." 

Upon  this  latter  statement  I  looked  at  first  as  merely 
a  feint  to  prevent  the  minds  of  the  people  from  being  af- 
fected by  the  excommunication ;  but  afterward  I  found 
the  "  Opinione^'*  the  leading  journal,  strongly  maintain- 
ing the  position  that,  by  ancient  concessions  of  the  See 
of  Rome,  the  house  of  Savoy  was  guaranteed  for  all 
time  against  any  such  acts  of  the  pontifical  power,  and 
could  protect  itself  from  the  publication  of  ecclesiastical 
censures  among  its  own  subjects.  In  support  of  this 
view  it  produced  formidable  documentary  evidence. 
"With  this  grave  argument  the  "Op^?^^o«e"  coupled 
strong  representations  that,  to  give  the  excommunica- 
tion full  effect,  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  Pope,  be- 
fore the  conclusion  of  the  year  of  grace  1860,  to  pre- 
pare for  and  eventually  to  celebrate  the  greatest  cere- 
monial at  which  Rome  had  ever  presided ;  for  an  ex- 
communication not  followed  by  an  auto  da  fe  was  only 
a  broadside  with  blank  cartridge.  The  auto  da  fe 
ought  to  come  if  they  did  not  repent  within  the  year, 


TUEIN.  61 

and  it  would  have  to  be  performed  by  publicly  burning 
eleven  millions  of  Christians.  The  only  difficulty  would 
lie  in  catchmg  them ! 

Another  gentleman  to  whom  I  spoke  on  the  question 
of  the  excommunication  said,  "  Oh,  let  it  come.  The 
king  is  thoroughly  prepared.  His  mind  is  made  up  as 
to  his  course,  and  he  knows  what  to  do.  The  people 
are  prepared,  and  the  ministry  are  prepared,  even  to 
the  point  of  having  prisons  ready  for  any  priests  who 
will  dare  to  pubUsh  an  excommunication  of  the  king." 

As  several  had  said  that  perhaps  the  women  would 
be  frightened,  I  went  into  a  shop  where  there  were  four, 
and  no  men.  Having  bought  a  trifle,  I  began  to  talk. 
How  they  all  went  off  upon  the  national  topics,  like  as 
many  alarm  clocks  trying  which  would  ring  the  loud- 
est !  "  What  a  moment  for  Italy !  What  a  moment 
for  Turin !  What  a  grand  union  !  The  rest  of  Italy 
would  soon  be  with  them  too.  Italy  was  to  be  a  na- 
tion. England  had  been  their  friend."  After  giving 
them  time  to  effervesce,  I  threw  in  a  little  cold  water 
in  the  form  of  a  question — ^What  they  would  do  if  the 
Pope  should  place  them  all  under  excommunication. 
They  broke  out  again  with  as  much  eagerness  as  ever, 
mingled  with  a  dash  of  indignation.  "  Let  him !  let 
him !  Does  he  think  it  will  frighten  any  one  ?  ISTo, 
not  in  the  present  day.  Those  were  tricks  for  old 
times.  How  dare  he  excommunicate  the  king?  If 
the  king  had  done  wrong,  and  he  excommunicated  him 
for  it,  there  would  be  something  in  it ;  but  the  king  has 


62  ITAiY  IN  TEANSinON. 

been  doing  right.  He  has  been  working  for  Italy,  and 
fighting  for  Italy;  and  the  people  have  been  doing 
right — they  have  been  trying  to  become  a  nation.  That 
is  their  duty,  and  they  will  be  a  nation ;  and  they  are  to 
be  excommunicated  for  that !  If  the  Pope  do  it,  it  will 
hurt  nobody  but  himself.  If  he  shut  the  churches,  nev- 
er mind ;  he  and  his  priests  will  be  forsaken.  Let  him 
do  it,  if  he  likes." 

I  never  had,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  a  more  willing 
audience  than  while  I  talked  to  them  on  Church,  and 
priest,  and  religion,  and  blessing,  and  cursing,  and  after 
a  long  time  bade  them  farewell,  with  earnest  requests 
to  come  back  again. 

Selecting  another  shop,  which  also  contained  only 
women,  apparently  of  a  superior  class  to  the  former,  I 
began  to  speak  to  the  mistress.  She  was  pale  and  very 
dejected ;  perhaps  a  widow  lately  bereaved,  or,  more 
probably,  one  who  had  long  been  struggling  hard  for 
a  living.  I  began,  "  This  is  a  joyful  time  in  Turin." 
"  Yes,  for  some,"  she  said,  with  a  sigh.  "  Not  for  all  ?" 
I  asked.  "  "Well,  for  the  men,  yes ;  but  for  us  poor 
women  ?"  "  I  suppose  you  are  afraid  that  the  holy  Fa- 
ther will  excommunicate  you  all  ?"  "  Oh,"  she  cried, 
"  as  for  that,  no  ;"  and,  with  rather  a  pleased  look,  "  I 
should  Hke  to  see  it."  "  Like  to  see  it  ?"  I  said.  "  Is 
it  not  a  very  terrible  thing  to  be  put  out  of  the  Cliris- 
tian  Church  by  God's  vicar  upon  earth  ?"  She  shrug- 
ged her  shoulders,  and  said,  "  Oh,  that  would  frighten 


TUEIN.  53 

The  rest  struck  in.  They  declaimed  with  hearty 
good-will  against  the  wickedness  of  such  a  threat,  and 
said,  if  the  Pope  did  it,  all  the  churches  would  be  for- 
saken. Several  times  I  reminded  them  of  the  gravity 
of  coming  under  the  censure  of  the  holy  Father,  but  al- 
ways provoked  only  fresh  indignation.  At  last  they 
appealed  to  me,  and  asked  if  I  really  believed  that  it 
would  do  them  any  harm. 

"  Well,"  I  said,  "  as  to  us  English,  we  have  lain  under 
the  curse  of  the  holy  Father  for  the  last  three  hundred 
years ;  and  we  have  an  idea  that,  after  bearing  it  so 
long,  we  are  not  worse  off,  nor  much  worse  people  ei- 
ther, than  the  Neajoolitans  and  the  Romans,  who  have 
been  so  constantly  favored  with  his  benediction."  They 
burst  out  into  a  laughing  shout :  "  Oh,  only  think  !  the 
English  under  the  Pope's  curse,  and  the  Neapolitans 
with  his  blessing,  and  that  is  the.  effect  of  it !" 

A  similar  current  of  opinion  was  strongly  indicated  in 
the  press.  Wherever  the  topic  was  alluded  to  at  all,  it 
was  either  in  a  strain  of  indignation  or  of  ridicule.  The 
graver  papers  argued,  and  the  light  ones  published  cari- 
catures and  jokes.  Among  the  latter,  the  '•'- Pasquino^'* 
the  Italian  "  Punch,"  had  a  large  plate,  entitled,  "  The 
use  of  a  pipe-fusee  in  1860."  It  represented  the  Jupiter 
of  the  Vatican  upon  his  own  Olympus,  surrounded  by 
the  scarlet-hatted  gods.  He  looked  very  feeble,  but  in 
a  great  rage ;  and  was  hurling  down  a  thunderbolt  la- 
beled "Excommunication."  Below,  a  crowd  of  priests 
were  looking  on  with  terror-stricken  air,  anticij^ating 


04  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

the  eflects  of  the  discharge ;  but  a  sturdy  urchin,  with 
a  cocked  hat,  and  cocked  nose  hke  Victor  Emmanuel, 
stood  laughing,  with  his  pipe  in  his  mouth,  and  held  it 
out  so  adroitly  as  just  to  catch  the  forked  Hghtning  in 
the  bowl  of  the  pipe. 

Another  paper,  '•'•  FiBchetto^'^  represented  poHtical  ani- 
mals, each  taking  their  own  way  according  to  their  hu- 
mor ;  and  there  was  one  "  sagacious  animal"  that  had 
bethought  itself  of  the  best  use  for  waste  paper,  and 
was  just  entering  a  pork-butcher's  door  with  a  great 
hamper  of  papers  labeled  "  Excommunication,"  "  Cen- 
sure," "Bull,"  "RescrijDt,"  "Protest,"  and  so  on. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Jesuits  here  have  an  organ 
called  the  "^Irwiowm,"  which  does  for  them  in  Turin 
what  the  "  Univers''^  used  to  do  at  Paris.  It  is  chiefly 
remarkable  from  the  fact  that  one  of  its  principal  con- 
tributors is  a  member  of  the  Azeglio  famUy,  the  head 
of  which,  the  Marquis  Roberto,  has  long  been  known  as 
a  liberal  writer.  Of  late  years,  he  had,  in  some  import- 
ant votes,  taken  sides  jather  w4th  the  reactionary  party ; 
but  since  the  last  national  movement  he  has  reappeared, 
holding  a  pen  as  bold  as  that  of  any  other  pubUc  man, 
and,  in  one  of  his  recent  writings,  does  not  hesitate  to 
make  significant  allusion  to  "  the  giant  of  "Wittenberg," 
and  to  the  artifices  of  the  Council  of  Trent ;  and  lays 
down  the  grand  principle  that  henceforth  there  are  to 
be  but  two  authorities — 

In  politics,  the  Constitution, 
In  religion,  the  New  Testament. 


TUEIN.  55 

If  the  Marquis  Azeglio  and  other  statesmen  will  only 
abide  by  this  axiom,  the  future  destiny  of  Italy  is  as- 
sured. Alluding  to  the  Council  of  Trent,  he  says, 
"From  that  day,  progress  and  liberty  always  found,  as 
they  do  to-day,  their  chief  foe  in  the  court  of  Rome, 
which,  with  subtle  priestly  forecast,  saw  that  the  ripe- 
ness of  human  reason  and  the  diffusion  of  popular 
knowledge  would  assure  the  demolition  of  that  frail 
and  whited  clump  of  stones  with  which  it  has  deformed 
the  edifice  of  the  Church  founded  by  Jesus  Christ." 

Ko  wonder  that  the  '•^  Buona  Novdla^''  the  organ 
of  the  ancient  Italian  Church,  as  represented  by  the 
Vaudois,  should  cite  these  words,  in  which  the  modern 
corruptions  of  Christianity  are  appealed  against,  and  its 
ancient  and  holy  foundations  called  to  mind.  That 
Vaudois  Church  has  existed  and  suffered  simply  to  sus- 
tain this  appeal  to  the  original  truth  and  purity  against 
more  recent  degeneration;  but  the  "^rmoma"  makes 
it  a  great  reproach  to  the  Marquis  Roberto  d' Azeglio 
to  be  praised  by  the  '-'- Buona  NovellaP  "Your  fa- 
ther," it  says,  did  so  and  so,  and  so  and  so ;  "  but  the 
^  Buona  NomlW  did  not  praise  him."  He  did  so  and 
so,  and  so  and  so;  "but  the  '-Buona  Nomlld!  did  not 
praise  him !"  And  what  becomes  of  statesmen  in  the 
future  whom  Jesuit  papers  do  praise  ? 

This  Marquis  Roberto  d' Azeglio  is  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  his  more  celebrated  brother  Massimo,  or 
with  his  own  son,  who  is  now  embassador  at  our  court. 
Among  the  prodigies  of  Italy,  perhaps  the  greatest  liv- 


56  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

ing  is  Massimo  d'Azeglio.  He  is  celebrated  as  a  paint- 
er, celebrated  as  a  novelist,  celebrated  as  a  political 
writer,  celebrated  as  a  soldier,  and,  above  all,  celebrated 
as  a  statesman.  His  pictures  receive  much  praise ;  his 
pen  has  exerted  as  great  an  influence  on  the  fate  of 
Italy  as  that  of  any  living  man.  The  tales  of  his  sol- 
diering are  heroic,  and  he  bears  in  his  body  a  soldier's 
mementoes.  When  Italy  bowed  in  sorrow  under  the 
disaster  of  Novara,  and  young  Victor  Emmanuel  had 
sadly  to  take  up  the  crown  which  his  father,  Charles 
Albert,  had  laid  do'wn  with  a  broken  heart,  the  man  he 
called  to  his  side  as  prime  minister  of  the  new  consti- 
tutional kingdom,  setting  out  on  its  untried  career, 
staggering  with  recent  blows,  and  shedding  many  tears 
over  the  exile  of  its  founder,  was  Massimo  d'Azeglio. 
He  guided  the  nation  until  he  had  brought  upon  the 
stage  such  men  as  Cavour  and  La  Marmora ;  and  then, 
yielding  to  his  love  for  study  and  art,  went  again  into 
private  Ufe.  But  in  the  late  commotions,  when  Milan 
became  free,  and  a  governor  was  to  be  appointed,  the 
Lombards  would  have  at  their  head  the  man  whom  all 
trusted,  loved,  and  wondered  at. 

He,  in  a  late  pubUcation,  alluding  to  the  religious  as- 
pects of  the  national  question,  declares  that  Italy  can 
never  be  Protestant,  and  tries  to  throw  the  blame  of 
the  Pope's  faults  upon  Austria.  He  seems  to  take 
pleasure  in  setting  up  the  distinction  between  the  spir- 
itual and  temporal  power,  hoping  to  rescue  his  country 
from  the  curse  of  the  one,  while  yet  the  Church  shall 
retain  to  itself  the  othei-. 


TUEIN.  57 

Time  only  will  show  men  how  inevitably  temporal 
despotism  arises  out  of  spiritual,  and  will  make  them 
see  that  the  real  groundwork  of  the  tyranny  of  Austria, 
and  of  other  such  countries,  is  the  absolute  rule  of  hu- 
man souls  assumed  by  the  Pope.  People  in  England 
are  ready  to  think  when  they  hear  an  Italian  statesman 
profess  to  distinguish  between  the  spiritual  and  the 
temporal  authority,  that  it  is  merely  an  artifice  by 
which  he  seeks  to  have  his  own  way  for  the  moment. 
With  some  it  may  be,  but  with  many  it  is  perfectly 
sincere.  They  see  the  Romish  religion  existing  in 
countries  where  the  Pope  has  no  temporal  authority, 
and  naturally  conclude  that  it  may  be  so  in  Italy,  for- 
getting that  in  those  countries  the  people  enjoy  rights 
secured  to  them  by  doctrines  totally  subversive  of  the 
Pope's  claims,  which  protect  them  from  ever  being 
placed  under  the  full  force  of  the  spiritual  tyranny.  If 
the  Pope  is  the  vicar  of  God,  head  and  organ  of  an  in- 
fallible Church,  any  power  which  prevents  him  from 
bringing  all  his  spiritual  authority  to  bear  on  the  souls 
of  men  sins  against  their  moral  health  and  eternal 
hopes,  as  a  ruler  who  prevented  the  free  fall  of  rain 
and  sunshine  would  sin  against  physical  life.  Kow 
take  the  recent  decrees  of  the  Inquisition  (of  which  one 
is  hereafter  inserted),  and  do  they  claim  more  than 
such  a  perfect  possession  of  a  man's  soul  and  principles 
as  it  is  natural  a  vicar  of  God  and  an  infallible  guide 
to  salvation  should  claim  ?  Yet  is  there  upon  earth  a 
government  that  dare  permit  such  atrocious  enactments 
C2 


58  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

to  operate  among  its  people  ?  "Were  one  found,  could 
society  cohere  under  it  ?  And  if,  from  the  sheer  neces- 
sity of  warding  off  social  chaos  and  political  ruin,  every 
temporal  power  that  ever  was,  that  is,  and  that  can  be, 
is  compelled  to  curb  and  lame  the  Pope's  spu'itual 
power,  how  vain  is  it  to  protest  that  it  is  a  sacred  thing 
to  be  respected !  Still,  let  us  not  accuse  those  who  do 
so  of  dupUcity.  More  time  and  mpre  sorrows  wiU 
teach  more  truths. 

Another  point  on  which  we  are  liable  to  think  them 
insincere  is  that  of  religious  liberty.  Every  Italian  of 
the  liberal  party  professes  an  abhorrence  of  all  persecu- 
tion, and  a  firm  belief  in  the  doctrine  that  every  man 
should  be  free  to  worship  God  according  to  his  own 
conscience.  Some  of  them  may  hold  the  French  dis- 
tinction between  freedom  to  believe  and  freedom  to 
worship ;  but,  if  so,  I  never  heard  any  of  them  allude 
to  it.  It  is  the  most  silly  of  absurdities ;  for  no  man 
can  interfere  with  the  liberty  of  another  to  believe 
whatever  he  likes ;  and  unless  liberty  of  following  and 
proclaiming  your  belief  exists,  there  is  no  reUgious  lib- 
erty at  all. 

EngUshmen,  then,  finding  Italian  statesmen  avow 
themselves  friends  of  religious  liberty,  and  yet  hearing 
every  now  and  then  of  a  Protestant  meeting  closed  by 
public  force,  or  a  preacher  brought  before  the  tribunals 
and  subjected  to  some  sort  of  penalty,  perhaps  to  im- 
prisonment, lose  patience,  and  regard  their  professions 
as  a  mere  blind  to  fool  the  people  of  free  countries ;  but 


TURIN.  69 

this  is  not  just.  They  sincerely  desire  to  see  religious 
liberty  established.  The  practical  difficulties  in  their 
way  are  great,  and  not  easily  understood  by  us.  It  is 
not  at  Turin  as  in  London.  With  us,  the  Constitution 
has  grown  up  by  degrees,  and  is  in  itself  the  embodi- 
ment and  power  of  national  law  and  usage.  At  Turin 
the  Constitution  is  a  modern  statute,  placed  by  one  roy- 
al act  in  the  midst  of  a  great  body  of  ancient  laws.  It 
overshadows  them ;  and,  if  it  live,  such  as  are  unfriend- 
ly to  it  must  eventually  perish  under  its  shade.  For 
the  present,  however,  they  stand  unrepealed,  and  some 
of  them  materially  aifect  religious  questions.  Local  au- 
thorities can  apply  the  old  law  in  the  very  teeth  of  the 
Constitution.  This  is  done  frequently.  And  the  states- 
men of  Italy,  bent,  above  all  things,  upon  teaching  the 
people  the  sacred  duty  of  keeping  law,  will  support  a 
procedure,  when  once  invested  with  legal  sanction, 
which  they  regret  as  an  occurrence,  and  disapprove  as 
to  the  principles  by  which  it  was  prompted. 

While  all  credit  for  sincerity  in  this  matter  ought  to 
be  accorded,  on  the  other  hand,  one  can  not  look  at  the 
facts  which  constantly  arise  without  feeling  that  the 
public  men  confront  the  priests  when  temporal  motives 
impel  them,  but  do  not  show  much  courage  when  they 
have  to  carry  out  their  own  views  as  to  the  rights  of 
the  human  conscience.  In  the  former  matters  they  take 
the  course  they  believe  to  be  for  the  national  interests, 
and  leave  the  priests  to  rage  at  will.  In  the  latter  they 
temporize  and  speak  of  fears,  forgetting  that  all  rights 


60  ITALY  IN  TEANSITION. 

are  periled  if  the  man  himself,  the  soul  within,  is  not 
held  sacred.  They  might  settle  the  matter  at  once  by 
simple  laws,  taking  away  all  show  of  legal  right  to  per- 
secute, and  by  clear  and  express  announcement  that  the 
time  had  come  when  the  conscience  of  the  poorest  Ital- 
ian was  to  be  protected  by  the  whole  power  of  the 
kingdom  of  Italy.  Let  the  priests  but  feel  that  the 
question  was  settled,  that  soul-bonds  were  all  broken  by 
law,  and  that  the  public  force,  whether  armed  or  judi- 
cial, was  no  longer  at  the  disposal  of  the  persecutor, 
but  ever  on  the  side  of  the  persecuted,  and  they  would 
bow  to  this  order  of  things  much  more  patiently  than 
they  can  do  in  several  other  matters  to  which  they  have 
learned  to  submit. 

It  is  not,  however,  to  be  inferred  that  in  the  city  of 
Turin  sensible  restraints  exist  upon  religious  liberty. 
There  the  Protestant  churches  are  as  free  as  Romish  or 
Greek  ones  are  with  us.  The  Bible  is  every  where 
hawked  and  sold,  Bible-schools  are  taught,  the  press 
issues  whatever  books  any  one  may  please  to  print,  and 
the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  has  free  way.  Through- 
out the  great  provincial  cities  the  same  state  of  things 
exists  in  the  main,  though  now  and  then  the  courts  of 
Genoa  may  be  found  joronouncing  a  sentence  that  reads 
much  more  like  Naples  than  Sardinia.  But  m  country 
places  irritating  obstructions  are  often  thrown  in  the 
way  of  religious  liberty,  and  statesmen  are  slow  to  in- 
terfere effectually. 

This  subject  naturally  leads  one  to  think  of  the  Jew 


TUEIN.  61 

family  Mortara.  To  them,  as  to  thousands  of  others, 
whose  liberties  have  been  outraged  under  the  papal  gov- 
ernment, the  free  city  of  Turin  has  offered  an  asylum. 
No  longer  able  to  endure  the  scene  of  their  family 
wrongs,  they  have  retired  from  the  Romagna  to  a  place 
where  they  can  dwell  under  protection  for  both  con- 
science and  person.  I  called  upon  them,  and  met  with 
a  very  kind  reception.  The  first  member  of  the  family 
I  saw  was  a  little  boy  of  eight  or  nine  years  old,  whose 
countenance  fell  the  moment  I  inquired  if  they  had  late- 
ly had  any  news  of  their  little  brother  at  Rome.  A 
sister,  of  perhaps  twelve  years  of  age,  when  asked  the 
same  question,  at  once  showed  tears  in  her  eyes.  Both 
said  they  had  not  heard  any  thing  for  a  long  time. 
Madame  Mortara  was  pale,  sad,  and  worn  with  sick- 
ness. She  had  been  ill  for  four  months,  having  never 
recovered  the  shock  of  the  midnight  visit  of  the  police, 
the  abduction  of  her  boy,  and  her  own  painful  chases 
after  him.  Poor  lady!  it  was  some  slight  satisfaction  to 
be  able  to  tell  her  the  feelings  with  which  Christians  in 
England  regarded  such  acts  as  that  which  had  violated 
her  motherly  rights,  and  left  her  heart  so  mournful,  and 
how  entirely  they  were  opposed  to  the  spirit  and  exam- 
ple of  the  Christian  religion.  The  name  of  Sir  Culling 
Eardley  seemed  to  be  music  to  her  ear,  and  the  Httle 
book,  "  The  true  Story  of  Edgar  Mortara,"  though  in 
an  unknown  tongue,  appeared  to  be  a  jewel  to  her. 
The  daughter  mentioned  a  drama  which  had  been  got 
up  and  played  here. 


62  ITALY   IN  TEANSITION. 

I  could  find  very  little  general  interest  in  the  case 
among  the  people.  They  all  blamed  the  priests,  but 
looked  on  it  as  rather  an  ordinary  example  of  what  the 
papal  government  might  do ;  and  thought,  if  Europe 
generally  had  known  as  much  as  they,  the  treatment  of 
the  Mortara  family  would  have  been  taken  as  nothing 
remarkable.  Signor  Mortara  himself  acknowledged 
that  all  the  ItaUans  condemned  the  Church  for  its  treat- 
ment of  his  boy,  and  yet  he  seemed  more  disposed  than 
most  I  met  with  to  sj^eak  with  respect  of  the  priests, 
and  gave  them  credit  for  influence  among  the  people  so 
long  as  they  confined  themselves  to  religious  and  avoid- 
ed temporal  matters. 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  connected  with  the 
arrival  of  the  news  of  the  voting  upon  annexation,  I 
visited  several  churches,  and  found  that  they  were  tol- 
erably well  attended,  and  in  one  or  two  cases,  where 
special  ceremonies  were  proceeding,  the  congregations 
were  really  large.  Nor  were  they,  as  often  stated,  comr 
posed  entirely  of  women ;  but,  in  some  cases  at  least, 
there  was  a  very  fair  proportion  of  men.  It  was  rare, 
however,  to  see  a  man  bow — very  rare.  Occasionally 
one  might  be  found  upon  his  knees,  and  then  he  was 
more  in  earnest  than  the  majority  of  the  women,  who 
appeared  as  much  at  liberty  to  make  observations  while 
going  through  their  prayers  as  if  they  had  been  knit- 
ting. 

At  first  sight,  in  Romish  countries,  one  is  struck  with 
the  fact  that  the  clmrches  are  always  open,  and  that 


TUKIN.  63 

persons  passing  go  in  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  kneel 
down  and  repeat  a  prayer.  It  is  also  the  custom  with 
those  who  are  more  devout  to  spend  considerable  por- 
tions of  time  at  their  private  devotions  in  the  church 
during  the  day.  Impressive  as  this  is  at  first,  after  a 
while  one  learns  that  a  public  place  is  not,  after  all,  the 
best  scene  for  private  devotion,  and  that  the  occasional 
visit  to  the  church,  as  a  substitute  for  the  closet,  is  a 
poor  expedient.  Moreover,  it  gradually  comes  to  mind 
that  this  is  the  very  thing  against  which  our  Lord  di- 
rected His  express  reproof.  He  teaches  us  that  a  pub- 
lic place  is  for  united  worship,  and  that  private  prayer 
is  for  the  secret  place  between  the  worshiper  and  God. 

When  the  news  of  the  definite  result  of  the  voting 
had  been  received,  and  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Farini 
was  fully  known,  the  appearance  of  the  city  became 
more  and  more  festive ;  the  number  of  banners  in- 
creased, signs  of  preparation  for  great  illuminations 
rose  every  where,  the  throng  in  the  street  was  great, 
men's  looks  and  tones  were  exultant,  and  even  their 
footsteps  seemed  to  echo  the  proud  word,  "  We  are  a 
nation."  At  night  impatient  joy  could  not  wait  for  the 
prescribed  moment,  but  burst  out  into  partial  illumina- 
tions. Having  witnessed  all  this,  and  feeling  more  in- 
clined for  a  quiet  Sunday  than  for  one  of  crowds  and 
shows,  we  left  Turin  for  Milan  the  day  before  Farini 
was  to  arrive. 

When  in  Rome,  I  read  in  the  ^''Civilta  Cattolica^'' 


64  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

"  The  poiDulation  of  Turin  received  Farini  and  Ricasoli 
in  the  coldest  manner,  and  that  for  some  reasons  which 
we  shall  name.  First.  The  Tm-inese  side  with  the  Pope, 
and  regard  with  an  evil  eye  the  spoliation  of  his  prov- 
inces. Secondly.  The  population  has  a  presentiment,  a 
prejudice,  a  something  in  the  mind  which  says,  'This 
can't  last ;  this  won't  last.'  Thirdly.  The  city  of  Turin 
foresees  that,  even  should  it  last,  it  would  be  to  it  a  very 
heavy  loss,  because  it  must  necessarily  cease  to  be  the 
capital.  For  these  reasons  the  illumination  of  the  18th 
of  March  was  a  very  shabby  affair,  so  that  the  city 
guard  had  to  go  about  from  house  to  house,  to  entreat 
the  citizens  in  the  name  of  the  mayor  to  light  uj^ ;  and 
then  on  the  Sunday,  an  attempt  being  made  to  repeat 
the  illumination,  nothing  could  be  got  but  a  very  few 
of  the  smallest  lamps,  scattered  here  and  there,  as  many 

as  you  could  count  upon  your  fingers The  Tu- 

rinese  prefer  keeping  their  money  to  pay  St.  Peter's 
pence."* 

This  "  Civilta  CattoliccC'*  is  the  one  lonely  magazine 
which  comes  into  the  world  at  Rome,  as  the  "  Giomale 
di  RomcC  is  the  soUtary  newspaper.  The  latter  is  the 
daily  organ  of  the  papal  government ;  the  former  the 
fortnightly  one  of  the  Jesuits ;  and  the  quotation  just 
given  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  sort  of  news  with  which 
the  one  and  the  other  illuminate  the  people,  for  whoso 
indulgence  such  dangerous  treats  are  allowed  to  be  pre- 

*  *^La  Civilta  Cattolica"  for  April,  1860,  under  the  head  Cronaca 
Contemporanea. 


TUEIN.  65 

pared.  Besides  the  lies  in  the  above  statement,  there 
is  a  curious  blunder,  because  the  1 8th  of  March  is  first 
mentioned,  and  then  the  Sunday.  Now  the  Sunday  was 
the  18th,  so  that  I  can  testify  that,  two  days  before  the 
Sunday  came,  and  before  the  public  illuminations  were 
looked  for,  a  great  many  persons  had  lit  up.  When 
next  in  Turin,  the  waiter  at  the  hotel,  learning  that  we 
had  just  come  from  Florence,  asked, 

"  Did  you  see  the  king  ?" 

"  Yes,  we  saw  his  reception  at  Florence." 

"  Did  they  receive  him  well  ?" 

"  I  have  seen  many  public  demonstrations,  but  never 
any  thing  Hke  it  in  this  world." 

"  Oh,"  he  said,  "  but  you  should  have  been  here  to 
see  the  arrival  of  Farini !" 

"  The  arrival  of  Farini  ?"  I  said.  "  That  was  a  very 
cold  aifair." 

He  looked  at  me  with  blank  amazement.  I  said, 
"  When  Farini  arrived,  you  gave  him  a  miserably  cold 
reception  at  Turin,  and  could  not  get  up  a  respectable 
illumination  for  him."  The  man  turned  all  sorts  of  col- 
ors, and  asked  me  why  in  the  world  I  said  that ;  that  it 
was  an  overwhelming  demonstration. 

"  But,"  I  said,  "  my  account  of  it  must  be  correct ;  I 
read  it  in  Rome,  in  the  Pope's  own  magazine,  the  '  Ci- 
viltci  Cattolica.'' " 

This  relieved  him  very  much,  and  he  burst  out  into  a 
laugh. 

Going  into  a  money-changer's  shop,  he  said,  looking 


66  ITALY   IN   TKANSITlOJSr. 

at  the  coin,  "You  have  been  into  the  south.  Did  you 
see  the  king  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  saw  his  entrance  into  Florence." 

"  Did  they  receive  him  well  ?" 

"  Such  a  reception  as  I  never  saw  in  this  world.  It 
was  a  most  wonderful  demonstration." 

"  And  the  illuminations  ?"  he  said. 

"  The  illuminations  were  surpassingly  magnificent." 

"  Oh,  but  you  ought  to  have  been  here  to  see  the  ar- 
rival of  Farini  some  weeks  ago.  That  was  the  thing  to 
see — the  reception  we  gave  him !  And  we  surpass  the 
world  for  illuminations :  we  have  here  a  great  genius  in 
that  line,  a  man  who  is  sent  for  every  where." 

I  repeated  to  him  my  statement  to  the  waiter.  Then 
he  looked  very  puzzled  and  very  angry;  but  at  last, 
when  I  mentioned  the  ^^Civilta  CattoliccC^  as  my  au- 
thority, he  laughed  as  one  seldom  hears  an  Italian  do — 
a  ringing,  loud  laugh. 

"  Oh,  that's  all  right,"  he  said ;  "  very  glad  that  the 
^Civilta  Cattolicd)  should  say  so.  It  is  the  organ  of 
the  Jesuits,  and,  of  course,  every  body  will  read  it  as 
meaning  exactly  the  opposite  of  what  it  says." 

Will  Turin  remain  the  capital  of  the  new  Italian  king- 
dom ?  This  is  a  question  which  only  time  can  answer. 
Should  all  Italy  become  united,  it  is  not  possible ;  and 
even  should  the  present  free  states  consolidate  into  one 
kingdom,  the  probability  of  a  change  of  capital  would 
be  very  strong.  But  be  the  future  as  it  may,  the  part 
played  by  Turm  in  the  emancipation  of  Italy  must  ever 


TUEIN.  67 

make  it  a  city  dear  to  the  memory  of  Italian  patriots. 
Here,  when  every  other  power  in  Italy  bowed  to  the 
ground  before  the  foreigner,  the  standard  of  independ- 
ence was  raised.  Here,  while  elsewhere  prince  and 
people  were  divided,  the  crown,  the  nobility,  and  the 
commons  united  to  advance  the  national  cause.  Here, 
when  the  thoughtful  and  bold  were  obliged  to  flee 
from  tyrannies,  native  or  foreign,  they  found  a  safe  re- 
treat ;  and  the  most  illustrious  of  them,  as  Farini,  Ma- 
miani,  Calandrelli,  an  opportunity  to  labor  in  worthy 
spheres  for  the  good  of  the  fatherland.  As  the  birth- 
place of  the  Constitution  and  the  cradle  of  modern  Ital- 
ian liberties,  whatever  be  the  future  position  of  Turin, 
capital  or  no  capital,  it  will  remain  in  history  illumina- 
ted by  the  record  of  great  events  and  brilliant  names. 


CjiBjitn  in. 


INTO  LOMBARD!. 


In"  the  railway  carriage  were  two  gentlemen,  evi- 
dently both  of  some  position  in  the  country ;  one  a  tall, 
portly  man,  very  like  a  North  Country  English  squire ; 
the  other  old  and  frail,  with  a  lively  countenance  and 
French  appearance.  They  were  both  Piedmontese; 
but  the  latter  had  traveled  much,  and  knew  England 
well.  Every  now  and  then  they  regaled  themselves 
with  a  private  chat  in  the  Piedmontese  dialect,  making 
it  so  unintelligible  that  it  might  as  well  have  been 
Turkish. 

The  different  dialects  in  Italy  are  one  of  the  stron- 
gest proofs  of  the  perfection  to  which  the  isolating  sys- 
tem had  been  carried  by  the  petty  little  states  that 
have  cut  the  country  up  between  them.  They  are  not 
the  mere  brogues  or  accents  which  we  find  in  different 
parts  of  the  British  Islands,  but  really  deserve  to  be 
called  separate  dialects ;  so  much  so,  that  the  inhabit- 
ants of  one  part  of  the  country  can  converse  in  the 
presence  of  those  of  another  with  tolerable  security 
that  they  will  scarcely  be  understood ;  and  as  to  a  for- 
eigner, they  put  him  out  of  court  at  once.  It  will  take 
considerable  time  before  the  influence  of  the  press,  rail- 


t 


12  ITALY   IN  TEANSinON. 

ways,  and  progressive  education  renders  the  sj^eech  of 
the  country  tolerably  uniform ;  but  just  as  political  iso- 
lation and  limited  reading  tend  to  the  multiplication  of 
dialects,  so  certainly  do  union,  periodical  literature,  and 
frequent  intercourse  tend  to  give  men  the  comfort  of  a 
common  speech. 

From  our  two  friends  I  endeavored  to  learn  some- 
thing of  their  views  on  passing  events ;  but,  though 
very  cordial  and  talkative,  they  kept  their  opinions  out 
of  view.  They  both  blew  cold  on  Garibaldi.  As  to 
Cavour  they  Trere  dumb.  They  had  a  good  word  for 
the  Austrians,  had  little  to  say  about  the  prospects  of 
the  national  cause,  and,  altogether,  took  their  place  in 
one's  idea  as  two  fine  intelligent  friends  of  things  as 
they  used  to  be.  The  subject  of  the  approachmg  ex- 
communication had  often  proved  the  means  of  eUciting 
something  of  men's  minds.  I  tried  it  upon  my  opposite 
friend,  the  tall,  strong  man,  but  he  evidently  felt  un- 
comfortable at  the  thought  of  it.  His  was  the  only 
countenance  on  which  I  had  read  a  fear.  Perhaps  I 
was  mistaken ;  but  my  impression  was,  that  a  real  re- 
hgious  fear,  such  as  one  might  suppose  a  devout  Catho- 
lic to  feel,  agitated  his  countenance  when  reminded  of 
the  fact  that  the  anathema  of  the  Church  against  the 
whole  nation  was  now  imminent.  Still,  if  he  had  the 
fear,  he  had  not  the  courage  to  avow  it.  As  we  sped 
along,  the  Alps  showed  gloriously  on  the  left ;  and  on 
the  right,  the  southern  chain  below  Turin,  called  "  the 
CoUina,"  veered  away  to  meet  the  Apennines,  leaving 


INTO  LOMBAEDY.  73 

the  great  plain  of  the  Po  to  develop  itself  by  degrees, 
stretching  on  and  on  toward  Lombardy.  We  hoped  to 
catch  a  good  sight  of  Monte  Rosa ;  but  it  would  not 
come  into  view. 

The  old  gentleman,  in  talking  of  the  sights  of  Turin, 
dwelt  especially  on  the  armory ;  and  then,  referring  to 
London,  spoke  of  the  Tower,  and  our  armory  there.  I 
was  obliged  to  make  the  confession  that  I  had  never 
been  in  the  Tower. 

"  Where  do  you  live  then,  sir  ?" 

"In  London." 

"  Then  you  have  never  been  in  the  Tower  ?" 

"It  is  too  true." 

Turning  to  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  party,  he  said, 
"  Pack  him  up  in  a  bandbox,  and  send  him  home  to 
England  directly." 

These  gentlemen  left  us  at  Vercelli,  one  of  the  posts 
which  attracted  some  attention  dm-ing  the  late  Avar. 
Soon  after  we  arrived  at  Novarra,  the  scene  of  Radet- 
sky's  triumph  and  Charles  Albert's  fall  in  1849.  Here 
was  a  vast  multitude  of  recruits  arriving  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Genoa — tall,  strong  young  fellows,  appar- 
ently full  of  glee,  singing  national  songs  with  vociferous 
enthusiasm.  Into  our  carriage  came  three  officers. 
What  a  change  of  wind  from  that  which  had  blown 
during  the  presence  of  our  former  companions !  These 
were  all  Lombards :  one  a  mere  youth,  full  of  fire,  and 
quite  at  home  the  moment  he  found  we  were  English ; 
the  second  was  a  short,  sharp  fellow,  with  great  eyes  ; 

D 


74  ITALY   IN   TKAKSITION. 

the  thii'd,  tall  and  weather-beaten,  silent,  strong,  and 
self-composed.  He  had  two  medals :  the  one  he  took 
off,  to  show  ns  the  countenance  of  om*  own  queen,  from 
whom  he  had  received  it  for  the  Crimean  campaign, 
and  inquired  of  the  ladies,  "Is  she  as  beautiful  as 
this?"  To  the  second  our  attention  was  called  by 
his  companion  with  pride,  for  it  was  the  national 
medal  for  military  valor,  equivalent  to  our  Victoria 
cross. 

"When  we  approached  the  Ticino,  how  they  did  fire 
uj) !  Every  inch  of  the  way  had  its  own  interest.  The 
big  eyes  of  the  little  officer  first  gleamed,  and  then 
filled  with  tears.  "  Oh !"  he  said,  "  you  can  not  tell 
how  I  feel  here.  I  was  a  conscript  in  the  Austrian 
army,  and  deserted  to  Piedmont,  and  for  two  years 
dared  not  cross  this  line.  How  I  did  feel  when  the 
day  came  that  I  could  march  across  it,  not  as  a  cap- 
tured deserter,  but  in  my  uniform  as  an  Italian  sol- 
dier—  a  common  soldier,  but  still  an  ItaUan  soldier, 
in  uniform,  marching  on  to  Austrian  territory !"  "  He 
was  longer  than  I,"  he  said,  pomting,  through  his  tears, 
to  his  tall,  medaled  friend — a  man  of  few  words. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "I  was  a  deserter  too,  and  for 
eleven  years  I  could  never  cross  this  line  to  see  my 
family." 

As  we  approached  Magenta  they  pointed  out,  first, 
the  positions  of  the  troops ;  then  the  traces  of  the 
battle,  the  marks  of  musket  shot  and  cannon  shot,  and 
the  feeling  grew  higher  every  moment.    Finally  came 


INTO   LOMBAKDY.  ^6 

the  cross  raised  to  commemorate  the  dead.  Deeply 
moved,  I  lifted  my  hat  and  said,  ''  May  God  establish 
the  liberty  of  Italy !"  The  young  fellow  dropped  his 
eyes,  overcome.  The  tall  one  gave  me  such  a  calm, 
grateful  look;  and  the  little  one  seized  my  hand  in  both 
of  his,  and  cried  out,  "  Thanks,  thanks !" 

"Signori,  cannon  balls!  Signori,  grape-shot!  Sig- 
nori,  a  sabre !  Signori,  an  Austrian  sword-belt !  Sig- 
nori, eagles !  Signori,  French  shot !"  Such  was  the 
cry  of  a  crowd  of  urchins  who  thronged  outside  the 
raiUng  of  the  station.  Our  little  friend  was  out  in  a 
minute,  and  bought  some  relics  for  each  of  us,  and  then 
we  managed  to  get  a  few  on  our  own  account. 

They  did  not  blow  cold  on  Garibaldi,  though  Fanti 
and  La  Marmora,  and  especially  Cialdini,  seemed  the 
men  of  their  chief  confidence.  One  hint  dropped  has 
often  recurred  to  my  mind  since  recent  events  in  the 
south.  "Where  is  Garibaldi?"  "Oh,"  replied  the 
young  fellow,  "  he  is  in  the  isle  of  Capriola,  ill ;  he  has 
a  little  property  there."  Then,  lifting  his  brow,  and 
pouting  his  lip,  "  He  is  there,  if  not  somewhere  else,  or- 
ganizing something." 

How  they  spoke  of  the  king's  soldiering !  "  He  is  a 
soldier !  Just  a  soldier !  The  heau  ideal  of  a  soldier ! 
Why,  at  the  battle  of  Palestro,"  said  the  little  officer, 
"  when  I  was  fighting  away  in  the  thick  of  it,  whom 
should  I  see  close  by  me  but  the  king ;  and  the  balls 
were  as  free  for  him  as  for  me.     Oh,  he  is  a  soldier !" 

After  the  excitement  of  Magenta  was  passed,  I  asked 


7G  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

our  friends  if  it  "would  not  be  a  very  serious  matter  if 
the  holy  Father  laid  the  king,  and  army,  and  nation 
under  his  anathema ;  but  they  tossed  the  excommunica- 
tion off  the  point  of  their  noses  with  soldierly  contempt, 
and  gave  me  a  fair  opportunity  of  telling  them  of  the 
proper  work  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Presently  they  pointed  out  a  convent,  saying,  "There 
all  the  devout  gentlemen  of  Milan  come  to  perform 
penance."  There  was  something  so  comical  in  the  ex- 
pression with  which  this  was  said,  that  one  was  prompt- 
ed to  inquire  what  they  meant.  "  Oh  yes,  they  come 
here  and  do  penance,  and  remain  in  the  convent,  shut 
up,  for  forty  days." 

"  Indeed !  practicing  austerities  ?" 

"  Yes,  they  pay  the  monks  heavily,  and  eat  and  drink 
in  princely  style,  and  walk  about  the  garden,  and  come 
out  of  their  seclusion  absolved  by  abundance  of  good 
cfeeer." 

This  was  said  with  so  much  genuine  fun,  that,  in  spite 
of  the  gravity  of  the  subject,  one  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing. It  gave  rise  to  a  long  conversation  on  repentance 
and  forgiveness.  They  soon  got  out  of  their  depth,  and 
looked  queer  at  me,  as  if  one  who  talked  religion  could 
hardly  be  a  true  man.  Still,  I  think,  the  honest  fellows 
had  a  sort  of  instinct  that  one  did  mean  something; 
but  off  they  broke  again  to  this  question  of  the  prandial 
penance.  "  Oh,  you  can  buy  any  thing  !  If  you  want 
to  eat  what  it  is  a  sin  to  eat,  pay,  eat,  and  be  innocent  I 
If  you  want  to  marry  a  person  it  is  a  shi  to  marry,  pay, 


INTO  LOMBAEDY.  ^7 

wed,  and  the  blessing  of  the  Church  be  upon  you !  It 
is^  all  a  shop." 

"  And  what  is  indulgence  ?"  I  said. 

"  Oh,  indulgence !  that  is  one  shop  more." 

"  But  what  is  it  ?" 

One  looked  at  another,  and  their  theology  was  hard 
set.  The  young  fellow  attempted  an  explanation,  but 
stopped  when  he  got  to  purgatory.  However,  enough 
was  said  to  open  the  way  for  words  about  the  Redeem- 
er's great  ransom  for  our  souls.  The  night  fell,  the 
walls  of  Milan  were  passed,  and  we  parted  great  friends. 


MILAN  DURING  THE  REJOICINGS  FOR  THE 
ANNEXATION. 


As  we  were  driving  along  the  rather  sombre  streets 
of  Milan,  they  suddenly  flashed  with  torchhghts,  and 
bands  of  mnsic  and  popular  acclamations  swelled  upon 
the  ear.  A  vast  crowd,  escorting  something  that  seem- 
ed like  a  procession,  swept  past  in  joyous  excitement. 
It  proved  that  the  students  from  Pavia  had  just  arrived 
in  the  town,  preparatory  to  great  rejoicings  on  the  mor- 
row ;  and  that  this  public  reception  was  only  a  small 
part  of  the  enthusiasm  which  was  venting  itself.  Al- 
ready, since  the  battle  of  Magenta,  there  had  been  some 
hundred  illuminations  or  more ;  but  to-morrow  was  to 
witness  an  exceedingly  grand  one,  intended  to  com- 
memorate the  issue  just  achieved,  the  union  of  Central 
Italy  with  the  northern  state ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  be  the  anniversary  of  the  five  days  of  March,  1848, 
when  the  Milanese  rose  and  expelled  their  Austrian 
masters.  As  in  Turin,  however,  they  had  not  patience 
enough  to  wait  for  the  day  fixed  for  the  great  illumina- 
tion, but  a  night  or  two  previously  many  had  been  com- 
mencing on  their  own  account ;  and,  what  was  worse, 
the  mob  had  shown  a  desire  to  dictate  to  those  who 
did  not  feel  inclined  to  do  so.  They  had  passed  sever- 
D2 


82  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

al  houses,  shouting  out,  "  Light  up ;"  and  carried  it  so 
far  as  to  compel  the  poor  dames  of  a  convent  to  obey 
their  wishes,  equally  against  their  habits  and  their  po- 
Htical  predilections.  The  governor  gave  prompt  orders 
that  no  such  interference  should  be  repeated,  and  him- 
self took  the  pains  to  wait  upon  the  nuns,  and  express 
his  regret  for  the  annoyance  to  which  they  had  been 
subject.  I  afterward  found  at  Rome  that  the  "  Civilta 
CattoliccC^  laid  grievous  complaints  against  him  and  the 
northern  government  generally  for  their  disregard  of 
Hberty  in  allowing  the  nuns  to  be  so  ill  used.  They 
added  that,  notwithstanding  his  visit  and  promises,  the 
insult  had  been  repeated ;  in  consequence  of  which,  the 
ladies  had  been  obliged  to  close  then-  schools  and  leave 
the  town.  So  sensitive  is  Rome  to  any  infraction  of  the 
liberty  of  Rome. 

We  found  that  our  hotel  was  within  a  few  hundred 
yards  of  the  Cathedral.  The  Corso  is  not  a  wide,  but 
a  lofty  street,  the  end  of  which  opens  upon  the  giant 
form  which  even  at  night  shed  upon  us,  as  we  gazed 
from  our  balcony,  a  sense  of  the  sublime.  Immediately 
opposite  us  stood  a  grandiose  modern  church,  which  an 
overgrown  dome  prevents  from  being  a  beautiful  little 
building ;  and  its  white  color  and  dapper  columns  help 
to  render  the  contrast  with  the  prodigious  mass  and 
mysterious  tracmg  of  the  Cathedral  all  the  more  forci- 
ble. That  night  the  Corso  was  as  animated  a  street  as 
could  be  found  in  the  world.  Little  remnants  of  the 
great  procession  now  and  then  streamed  by  with  flags, 


MILAN.  83 

and  torches,  and  drums.  The  people  shouted  and  sang, 
but  apparently  with  the  most  perfect  good  temper  and 
order.  The  hum  of  the  passers  has  an  unmistakable 
note  of  pleasure — hke  that  of  bees  in  honey  time.  A 
stranger,  utterly  ignorant  of  the  state  of  the  popular 
mind,  must  feel  that  he  had  fallen  upon  a  day  when 
men's  hearts  were  rejoicing. 

There  is  Milan  Cathedral  at  last !  How  wonderful  it 
is !  For  the  first  time  in  my  life,  my  previous  imagina- 
tion is  outdone  by  a  stone  building.  The  first  view  of 
the  exterior  of  St.  Peter's  had  disappointed  me.  With 
this  it  is  just  the  reverse.  Coming  upon  it  from  the 
narrow  Corso,  and  seeing  it  in  the  shade,  and  feeling  its 
growing  vastness,  and  watching  its  forest  of  pinnacles, 
its  wilderness  of  tracery,  delicately  marked  against  the 
gray  sky,  the  impression  sinks  deeper  and  deeper  into 
the  mind,  "  Wonderful !  Wonderful !  What  a  head  was 
that  which  gave  birth  to  this  conception!  How  it  must 
have  glowed  as  the  great  temple  sprang  forth  within 
it,  holding  up  these  pinnacles  to  heaven,  and  shedding 
down  this  sense  of  grandeur  upon  earth !  Oh,  to  rear 
up  living  temples  in  the  souls  of  men  which  would 
transmit  to  coming  ages,  not  the  impression  of  one's 
hand  or  skill,  but  the  spirit  of  true  worship  and  the  im- 
age of  God/!"  So  one  goes  on,  musing,  wondering,  and 
enchanted,  until  the  fagacle  is  reached.  After  a  look  or 
two  at  this,  one  would  rather  not  have  seen  it.  It  is 
vast,  but  only  vast ;  neither  beautiful,  nor  uniform,  nor 
grand,  nor  delicate;  it  is  just  the  caparisoned  Goliath  of 
gables. 


84  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

The  murmur  of  the  awaking  nation  swells  around  this 
stern  old  Cathedral,  and  the  night  light  falls  mystically 
upon  it,  and  one  thinks  there  of  the  days  of  early  Chris- 
tianity, which  some  of  its  traditions  recall,  and  the  suc- 
ceeding times  of  gradual  decline,  up  to  the  recent  point 
of  spiritual  degradation  and  temporal  woe,  and  now  the 
great  and  imcertain  future,  of  which  that  hum  in  the 
city  is  the  voice  whose  words  no  ear  can  tell.  Those 
old  walls  and  their  predecessors  have  seen  the  gradual 
corruption  of  religion,  and  the  successive  wrongs  and 
oppressions  of  Italy.  They  now  hear  the  shouts  of  a 
hopeful  uprising.     But  what  is  to  be  the  end  ? 

Sauntering  back  full  of  these  thoughts,  I  observed  a 
coffee-house  crowded  with  students,  and,  of  course,  went 
in.  The  poor  fellows  seemed  as  merry  and  simple  as 
children,  with  their  arms  round  one  another,  laughing 
and  talking  in  all  the  heyday  of  a  new  existence.  They 
had  papers  to  read,  freedom  to  speak  their  minds,  and  a 
country  to  caU  their  own !  An  Englishman  might  have 
wondered  what  they  had  to  make  them  so  happy ;  but 
where  these  three  things  are  strange,  what  boons  they 
appear ! 

Instead  of  heady  drinks,  which  one  might  expect  a 
multitude  of  excited  youths  to  order  if  one  were  in  En- 
gland, or  the  swilling  of  beer,  which  one  would  certain- 
ly see  in  Germany,  nothing  was  called  for  but  innocent 
cooling  drinks — a  little  orange-water,  or  something  of 
the  sort,  and  very  rarely  a  glass  of  liqueur. 

Taking  up  one  of  the  papers,  whicli  lay  in  large  num- 


MILAK.  85 

bers  round  the  room,  I  saw,  in  great  letters,  these  words : 
"  We  are  a  nation !  We  are  eleven  millions !  For  the 
first  time  since  ancient  Rome,  we  can  to-day  use  the 
words, '  We  are  a  nation !'  Italians  have  learned  to 
unite.  Again  we  cry, '  We  are  eleven  millions !' "  and 
this  strange  joy  of  their  new-found  nationality  seemed 
to  throb  in  the  veins  of  every  man  you  met  with. 

What  a  view  that  was  from  the  balcony  of  the  hotel 
on  the  Sunday  morning !  The  fronts  of  the  houses  gen- 
erally have  balconies.  Every  one  was  covered  with 
crimson.  From  the  windows  flags  were  streaming,  the 
bright  Italian  tri-color — green,  and  red,  and  white  ;  hav- 
ing the  advantage  of  fine  material,  exquisite  dye,  and 
the  Italian  light.  From  every  pinnacle  of  the  wondrous 
Cathedral  the  tri-color  banner  was  streaming ;  and  away 
up  in  the  blue  bosom  of  heaven,  from  the  highest  point 
of  the  spire,  a  broad  mass  of  red,  and  white,  and  green 
was  floating  in  the  air.  The  roll  of  the  drum  announces 
the  National  Guard;  their  light  blue  plumes  form  a 
moving  pavement,  the  flags  from  the  windows  a  waving 
canopy,  and  the  background  is  the  bannered  Cathedral. 
Had  one  planned  a  sight-seeing  journey,  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  plan  for  a  sight  like  that. 

Amid  the  joy,  the  noise,  the  hurry  of  the  streets,  we 
make  our  way  to  the  Swiss  Church.  There  is  no  con- 
fusion. The  people  are  all  wonderfully  civil ;  and  such 
as  I  manage  to  get  into  chat  with  only  need  to  be  set  a 
going,  and  they  will  talk  to  any  extent,  and  seem  really 
pleased  that  a  foreigner  should  interest  himself  in  them. 


86  ITALY  IN  TEANSinON. 

In  the  Swiss  Church  we  found  a  good  congregation, 
composed  chiefly  of  well-dressed  people,  with  a  good 
number  of  French  soldiers.  At  the  close  of  the  service, 
Mr.  Swalb,  the  French  Protestant  chaplain  to  the  troops, 
accompanied  us.  It  was  but  a  few  minutes  before  we 
came  upon  an  open  space,  the  Piazza  di  Castello — a  vast 
square,  larger  than  any  thing  in  London  but  the  parks. 
In  the  midst  stands  a  great  altar,  on  one  side  a  high  plat- 
form erected  before  a  building.  Around  it  the  Nation- 
al Guards  are  drawn  up  with  military  pomp,  and  every 
where  banners  are  streaming  in  all  the  colors  of  the 
rainbow,  and  especially  the  favorite  tri-color.  At  the 
altar  priests  are  celebrating  mass,  and  are  going  to  con- 
secrate the  colors  of  the  National  Guards.  Poor  priests! 
Poor  blessing !  I  saw  them  blessing  the  trees  of  liber- 
ty in  Paris  in  1848,  and  here  they  are  blessing  colors  to 
be  borne  against  the  Pope  and  his  allies!  If  I  were  a 
priest  it  would  go  hard  with  me  to  do  that ! 

It  is  not  a  worthy  spectacle  either  on  the  side  of  the 
Church  or  of  the  State.  The  churchman  is  there  to  do 
an  act  w^hich,  if  he  be  sincere,  is  odious  and  sacrilegious 
to  his  conscience ;  and  the  state  is  there  to  command, 
or  at  least  invite,  apparent  sanction  from  those  against 
whom  it  is  compelled  to  struggle  for  existence.  The 
whole  affair  gives  one  an  uncomfortable  feehng  of  hol- 
low and  supple  consciences.  Still  there  had  been  some 
little  show  of  sturdiness  among  the  Milanese  priests. 
On  Friday,  when  the  news  of  annexation  came,  all  the 
church-bells  were  ordered  to  ring.    Most  of  them  struck 


MILAN.  87 

up ;  but  the  quick  ear  of  the  Milanese  soon  discovered 
that  one  was  dumb.  The  great  bell  of  their  old  Cathe- 
dral, of  which  they  are  so  justly  proud,  had  no  voice  to 
celebrate  the  spoliation  of  the  Pope.  The  chief  priest 
had  taken  upon  himself  to  forbid  it.  The  people  rushed 
into  the  Cathedral,  and  found  that  the  ropes  were  truss- 
ed up.  They  were  very  angry,  but  committed  no  vio- 
lence. They  got  the  ropes  down,  and  made  the  great 
bell  ring  out  with  a  will,  and  ring  on  till  a  late  hour  in 
the  night,  proclaiming  the  joy  of  Italy  at  the  reduction 
of  papal  power.  This,  however,  appeared  to  create  a 
division  among  the  priests ;  for  an  address  was  inserted 
in  the  papers,  professing  to  emanate  from  a  considerable 
number  of  the  Milanese  clergy,  denouncing,  in  unmeas- 
ured terms,  the  unnatural  conduct  of  men  who  had  been 
the  ready  servants  of  Austria  while  inflicting  all  kinds 
of  degradation  on  their  fellow-countrymen,  but  who 
now  refused  to  participate  in  the  national  happiness, 
and  even  turned  the  great  Cathedral  itself  into  a  means 
of  insulting  the  cause  that  was  dear  to  every  Italian 
heart.  Under  the  frocks  of  priests,  in  many  instances, 
the  heart  of  the  patriot  beats  instead  of  that  of  the  mere 
Romish  ecclesiastic. 

Into  the  vast  crowd  now  before  me  I  plunged,  going 
from  one  part  of  it  to  another,  and  talking  right  and 
left,  to  man  and  woman,  old  and  young,  rich  and  poor. 
The  worst  is,  that  the  poor  people  talk  a  dialect  which 
one  can  hardly  understand.  Every  w^here  they  seemed 
pleased  to  converse  with  a  foreigner;  and  the  feeling 


88  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

toward  the  English  was  good.  As  to  the  terrors  of  the 
Pope  and  the  excommunication,  they  did  not  show  a 
trace  of  them.  Women  who  looked  as  if  they  were 
little  above  the  laboring  class  said,  "  Among  the  lowest 
class  there  may  be  a  little  fear,  but  among  all  others  it 
is  too  late  for  that."  A  sedate  man  waggishly  said, 
"  It  is  reported  that  the  king  will  put  on  a  heavy  pro- 
hibitory duty,  and  order  that  the  Bull  of  Excommuni- 
cation shall  not  pass  the  frontier  without  paying."  An 
intelligent,  thoughtful-looking  man  of  about  twenty-five 
turned  to  two  friends  who  seemed  Uke  "  fast"  young 
gentlemen,  and  said,  "  We  must  all  become  Protest- 
ants." This  was  the  first  time  I  had  heard  such  an  ex- 
pression from  an  Italian ;  I  had  not  named  Protestant- 
ism, and  it  took  me  by  surprise.  The  dandies  were 
startled.  I  said  to  them,  "  I  suppose  many  of  you  think 
that  a  Protestant  means  one  who  believes  nothing,  and 
is  a  sort  of  Atheist ;  or,  at  least,  that  it  means  some 
new  rehgion  invented  in  the  last  century  or  so."  Tliis 
fixed  the  attention  of  the  young  fellows,  who  wanted  to 
know  in  what  it  differed  from  such  representations.  I 
said,  "  Tlie  meaning  of  Protestantism  is  simply  this — 
that  in  the  course  of  time  Christians,  looking  back  to 
the  primitive  Church  as  traced  in  the  Word  of  God, 
and  in  the  early  creeds  and  histories,  became  aware  that 
great  corruptions  had  crept  in — corruptions  derived 
from  the  old  paganism  of  Rome  and  other  countries 
that  had  been  imperfectly  Christianized,  and  gradually 
mingled  with  newly-invented  doctrines,  just  as  in  the 


MILAN".  89 

recent  case  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  When  they 
had  become  profoundly  convinced  that,  to  preserve 
Christianity  at  all,  these  abuses  must  be  removed,  and 
a  return  be  made  to  the  old  beliefs  and  observances  es- 
tablished by  our  Lord  himself,  they  protested  against 
the  imposition  upon  Christians  of  any  doctrines  and 
practices  not  taught  in  the  Bible,  and  especially  against 
all  teaching  that  was  repugnant  to  it ;  but,  protesting 
against  those  abuses,  they  held,  and  do  sacredly  hold,  all 
the  articles  of  the  Christian  faith  as  taught  by  Christ 
and  by  His  apostles." 

The  thoughtless  youths  looked  downright  uneasy. 
The  subject  was  too  serious  for  them;  and  besides, 
they  seemed  rather  frightened  with  what  sounded  like 
heresy.  Still  they  said  nothing.  Their  elder  compan- 
ion replied  very  gravely,  "  Oh  yes,  I  know  all  about  it ; 
that  is  the  thing  for  us.  Italy  will  never  be  right  until 
we  have  that.  I  have  books,  and  I  have  read  them, 
and  I  hnoio  f"*  and,  turning  to  his  comrades,  he  said, 
"  You  must  read  ecclesiastical  history.  You  must  read 
the  YangeloP  —    "^ 

To  one  after  another  I  spoke,  wondering  when  I  was 
to  find  the  sincere  defender  of  the  Church  of  Rome — 
such  as  one  would  pick  up  in  any  crowd  in  Ireland ; 
but  he  did  not  come.  At  last  I  found  a  very  old  lady. 
She  was  very  civil,  and  we  had  a  long  chat ;  and  she 
appeared  surprised  that  a  gentleman  should  take  an  in- 
terest in  talking  to  her  about  the  religious  aspects  of 
the  matter ;  and  she  smiled  just  as  pleasantly  as  any  of 


90  ITiVLY   IN  TEANSITION. 

them  at  the  idea  of  the  Pope's  excommunication  doing 
any  harm.  It  was  plain  she  did  not  go  deep  into  mat- 
ters— took  them  as  they  came — was  drifting  on  toward 
the  close  of  her  voyage  in  the  easy  way  so  many  go, 
with  their  faces  up  the  stream,  looking  backward,  and 
thinking  little  of  the  rapids  which  they  are  nearing,  and 
of  the  great  fall  down  which  their  bark  is  about  to  go. 

The  only  way  I  could  account  for  the  fact  that  none 
of  those  I  spoke  to  showed  any  thing  like  a  disposition 
to  defend  the  Church,  was  by  supposing  that  all  those 
who  would  come  to  such  a  fete  were  persons  who  did 
not  care  for  the  authority  of  Rome. 

After  the  mass  was  over  the  troops  passed  in  proces- 
sion to  the  platform  at  the  end  of  the  square,  on  which 
were  standing  a  brilhant  crowd  of  officials ;  and  here 
occurred  a  ceremony  which,  in  the  distance,  reminded 
me  of  that  wonderful  scene  under  the  Arc  de  Triomplie 
in  Paris,  in  April,  1 848,  when  Lamartine  and  his  breth- 
ren of  the  Provisional  Government  sat  to  review  the 
army  and  the  National  Guard  for  twelve  successive 
hours,  having  armed  men  marched  past  them,  and  re- 
ceiving the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  republic  from  the 
commanding  officers.  A  figure  every  now  and  then 
appeared  in  the  distance,  as  if  deUvering  some  official 
words,  and  one  naturally  asked  if  that  w^as  Massimo 
d'Azeglio,  the  great  and  popular  Governor  of  Milan. 
The  people  around  me  thought  it  was ;  but  he  was  away 
that  day  in  Turin,  sharing  with  the  king  and  Cavour 
the  reception  of  Farini. 


MILAN.  91 

As  the  different  banners  streamed  by  in  the  proces- 
sion, there  was  one  that  affected  the  crowd  deeply — a 
brilliant  banner  draped  with  crape;  and,  as  I  asked 
what  this  sign  of  mourning  meant,  they  said,  dropping 
the  voice,  "  Veneziaf  VhtieziaP^  It  was  the  tone  men 
use  in  the  sick-room  of  a  friend.  Then  came  a  long 
streamer  all  black,  with  the  lion,  emblem  of  Venetia, 
emblazoned  upon  it ;  and  the  feeling  among  the  people 
was  intense. 

I  was  greatly  impressed  with  the  order  and  good 
temper  of  this  crowd.  Whether  on  the  Piazza  or  in  the 
streets,  whether  in  the  height  of  an  exciting  moment  or 
at  the  ordinary  times,  thorough  good-nature  prevailed. 
Any  thing  like  drunkenness  or  misconduct  was  not  to 
be  seen. 

When  the  night  came  the  city  lighted  up  with  won- 
derful splendor,  and  the  glow  of  the  lamps,  the  waving 
of  the  banners,  the  perpetual  rush  along  the  streets,  the 
plumes  and  the  helmets,  the  swell  of  music,  all  seemed 
but  as  the  bees  and  butterflies  to  an  orchard  in  blos- 
som ;  when  the  huge  Cathedral  flashed  out  with  lines 
of  light  all  round  its  frame,  cunningly  mingling  with  the 
tracery,  and  embellishing  every  pinnacle.  It  was  such 
a  sight  as  one's  eye  had  never  seen  before,  and  in  the 
world  could  not  see  elsewhere.  At  a  certain  moment, 
the  whole  vast  edifice,  spire,  roof,  body,  blushed  in  the 
richest  crimson.  This  changed  to  green,  and  again  to 
white.  About  this  there  was  a  mystery,  a  grandeur, 
and  a  beauty  united,  in  the  presence  of  which  all  recol- 


92  ITALY   IN  TEANSnrON. 

lections  failed  to  offer  a  comparison.  The  first  fainter 
tints  of  the  crimson,  as  it  came  out  upon  the  warm 
white  marble  of  the  Cathedral,  did  remind  me  of  that 
rose  blush  that  may  be  seen  covering  the  mountains  on 
the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Red  Sea  at  sunset ;  but  then, 
when  this  became  intensified  several  times,  with  aU  the 
fret-work  of  the  great  Cathedral  in  the  midst  of  it,  with 
the  spotless  sky  behind,  and  a  waving  world  of  ban- 
ners and  plumes  over,  among,  and  below,  it  was,  for 
witchery  of  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime,  something 
unique. 

Is  it  all  a  dream?  Am  I  not  at  Netting  Hill,  having 
fallen  asleep  over  a  volume  upon  unfulfilled  prophecy  ? 
Is  this  a  real  eye  that  is  gazing  and  gazing  ?  It  is  even 
so.  That  is  the  second  Cathedral  in  the  Romish  world, 
waving  with  joy-banners,  gleaming  with  joy-lamps,  and 
flushed  with  successive  colors,  as  if  emulating  the  north- 
em  lights,  and  all  to  celebrate  the  disruption  of  the 
Pope's  kingdom  ?  It  is  a  sight  to  gaze  at,  to  ponder, 
and  to  forget  no  more  I 

May  brighter  lights  than  these  shine  from  within  all 
the  cathedrals  ere  long ! 

This  had  been  a  strange  Sunday.  The  only  two 
Sundays  the  excitement  of  which  it  recalled  to  me  were 
the  first  I  spent  in  India,  going  with  Mr.  Haswell  among 
the  crowd  at  the  swinging  feast ;  and  that  Sunday  at 
Paris,  during  the  battle  of  June,  in  1848,  when,  passing 
through  the  ranks  of  Cuirassiers  into  the  little  chapel  in 
the  Rue  Royale,  we  held  our  service  amid  the  distant 


MILAN.  93 

sound  of  cannon,  and  came  out  again  through  crowds 
of  Cuirassiers,  with  cannon  still  roaring. 

As  one  lay  looking  back  on  the  scenes  of  the  day, 
comparing  the  ideas  of  the  different  persons  conversed 
with,  remembering  how  lately  one  might  have  suffered 
for  speaking  freely  on  religious  topics,  and  hearing  the 
ceaseless  hum,  frequently  varied  by  bursts  of  singing 
and  music,  it  was  impossible  to  render  an  account  of 
one's  own  feelings.  On  the  whole,  it  was  a  state  of 
puzzled  enjoyment.  As  to  the  past,  there  has  been  this 
great  change — nn  oppressed  people  is  now  standing  up 
free;  and  where  intolerance  had  been  dethroned,  the 
Word  of  God  is  not  bound.  As  to  the  future,  who  will 
interpret  it  ?  That  many-voiced  hum  is  its  forerunning 
note.  Its  tones  are  those  of  human  passion — hatred  of 
the  tyrant,  exultation  for  freedom — new  hope  of  coming 
strength  and  victory.  Making  all  abatement,  these  feel- 
ings, in  the  main,  are  right  and  laudable.  And  He  who 
guides  tempestuous  elements  till  their  rage  ends  in  the 
refreshment  of  nature,  can  overrule  this  rush  of  earthly 
feeling,  and  silently  work  out  for  Italy  what  He  wrought 
out  for  England,  amid  the  darker  torrents  of  passion 
that  drove  on  Henry  YHI.  to  collision  with  Rome. 

A  merchant  on  whom  I  called  early  the  next  morn- 
ing was  slow  and  sad,  with  little  to  say,  although  court- 
eous as  a  man  could  be.  He  comj)lained  that,  what 
with  the  failure  of  the  silkworm  and  the  commotions 
of  the  time,  business  was  sorely  depressed ;  and  told 
me  that  the  news  had  arrived  that  Savoy  was  now 
ceded  to  France. 


94  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

Another  was  as  lively  and  cheerful  as  the  former  was 
depressed.  What  a  time  I  had  come  to  Milan  at !  Had 
I  seen  the  rejoicings  yesterday  ?  Was  it  not  delight- 
ful ?  What  did  I  think  of  the  behavior  of  the  people  ? 
England  had  taken  a  Hvely  interest  in  their  welfare, 
and,  ever  since  Yillafranca,  had  been  their  best  friend. 
Presently  his  son,  a  very  fine  young  man,  joined  us ;  and 
when  the  religious  aspects  of  the  new  state  of  things 
were  alluded  to,  took  up  the  j)oints,  put  questions,  and, 
when  I  had  observations  to  make,  urged  me  on.  In 
came  a  bright-looking,  gray-haired  friend,  who  heartily 
welcomed  an  English  visitor.  The  former  conversation 
continued  uninterrupted.  "I  suj)pose,"  I  said,  "you 
ItaUans  think  we  English  are  Atheists,  and  beheve 
nothing  ?"  The  new-comer  replied,  "  Nowadays  we 
know  a  great  deal  better.  Your  nation  has  more  relig- 
ion, better  morals,  and  more  conscience  than  the  Cath- 
olic nations." 

"  Ay,"  struck  in  the  young  man ;  "  how  Simday  is 
sanctified  in  England !" 

While  we  were  in  the  height  of  discourse,  in  came  a 
brother  of  my  host  and  a  lady ;  and  it  was  pleasantly 
explained  that  this  being  the  day  of  liis  patron  saint, 
his  friends  were  paying  him  visits  of  congratulation. 
Unfortunately,  the  brother  talked  EngUsh,  and  this  c\r- 
cumstance  brought  our  conversation  to  a  close,  for  none 
of  the  others  understood  it ;  and,  like  my  Italian,  his 
English  was  club-footed,  and  hobbled  sadly. 

In  a  book-shop  near  the  Cathedral  I  saw  large  pla- 


MILAN.  95 

cards  announcing  a  pamphlet  under  the  title  of  "  Anti- 
Christ  is  the  Pope  :  Proved  from  the  Holy  Scriptures 
and  the  Holy  Fathers,  by  Robert  Fleming,"  and  pro- 
fessing  to  be  published  in  London.  It  was  plain,  at  the 
first  glance,  that  the  printing  and  paper  were  not  En- 
glish ;  and,  when  one  came  to  read  the  pamphlet,  inter- 
nal evidence  showed  that,  though  the  author  had  avail- 
ed himself  of  Fleming's  thoughts,  he  wrote  in  a  much 
more  telling  style,  and  must  have  been  at  work  within 
the  last  few  months,  from  allusions  to  passing  events. 
In  the  same  shop  was  also  announced  a  pamphlet,  "  The 
Protestant  Rule  of  Faith ;"  and  another  pamphlet  on 
the  question  of  excommunication,  showing  the  conduct 
of  the  Republic  of  Venice  when  laid  under  interdict  by 
Pope  Paul  v.,  and  urging  ItaHans  to  similar  firmness  in 
the  event  of  the  court  of  Rome  proceeding  to  repeat 
the  outrage.  In  this  the  writer  endeavors  to  keep  up 
respect  for  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  Pope  while  res- 
olutely combating  his  right  to  excommunicate  for  polit- 
ical reasons,  and  urging  courses  inconsistent  with  his 
own  doctrine  of  the  headship  of  the  Pope  in  spiritual 
matters. 

"  Have  you  any  Bibles  ?"  I  said  to  the  man ;  and  two 
or  three  visitors  looked  up  at  the  question. 

"  N'o,"  was  his  reply. 

"  Any  New  Testaments  ?" 

"  Oh  yes."  He  pulled  down  a  musty  volume,  which 
was  one  of  eight.  Instead  of  a  Testament,  it  was  a 
Commentary  upon  it,  without  the  text. 


96  ITALY   IN  TEANSITION. 

"  Have  you  no  other  New  Testament  ?" 

"None." 

"  Have  you  any  history  of  modern  Rome  in  Italian  ?" 

He  threw  his  head  aside,  as  if  this  was  a  new  ques- 
tion which  he  wanted  to  revolve ;  but  the  answer  came 
out,  as  I  knew  very  well  it  must  do,  "  No." 

When  I  inquired  of  this  man  what  the  effect  would 
be  if  they  were  all  placed  under  excommunication  by 
the  Pope,  he  burst  into  a  humorous  laugh,  and  the  cus- 
tomers turned  round  and  smiled.  "  If  the  Pope  does 
it,"  said  the  bookseller,  "he  will  do  it  not  against  us, 
but  against  himself.  "We  want  to  see  whether  he  will ; 
for  then  we  shaU  know  whose  vicar  he  is.  He  says  that 
he  is  the  vicar  of  Christ :  now  we  know  what  sort  of 
works  Christ  did  —  He  blessed  men,  and  saved  souls ; 
and  if  we  see  the  Pope  cursing  men,  cursing  a  whole 
kingdom  because  they  have  done  the  best  thing  they 
ever  did,  and  try  to  make  their  souls  be  lost,  we  know 
whose  work  that  is,  and  we  shall  know  whose  vicar  he 
is." 

I  found  that  another  bookseller  had  a  Bible.  It  was 
Martini's,  and  the  price  was  £2  8s.  (sixty  francs).  He 
had  also  a  copy  of  the  Vulgate,  in  two  beautiful  quartos, 
for  about  the  same.  I  told  him  that  we  had  New  Test- 
aments at  fourpence  a  piece,  and  that  they  were  circu- 
lated by  the  million.  He  seemed  to  have  had  some  ink- 
ling of  such  a  state  of  things,  but  an  old  gentleman  in 
the  shop  stared  as  if  I  talked  very  strangely.  Here 
again  we  got  into  a  long  conversation  on  national  and 


MILAN.  07 

religious  subjects.  On  the  former  the  man  was  free 
enough,  but  on  the  latter  it  appeared  evident  that  he 
had  a  strong  leaning  to  the  Pope  and  the  Church,  yet 
he  would  not  express  it.  He  also  had  never  heard  of  a 
history  of  modern  Rome  in  the  Italian  language. 

Another,  who  appeared  to  sell  Catholic  books,  talk- 
ed warmly  about  the  distinction  between  the  spiritual 
and  the  temporal  power,  rejecting  the  latter,  but  pro- 
fessing to  hold  the  former  in  the  greatest  regard.  How- 
ever, when  brought  to  the  practical  test  of  what  he 
would  do  with  the  excommunication,  he  made  the  state- 
ment that  at  least  thirty  priests,  from  different  parts  of 
the  surromiding  comitry,  had  told  him,  in  his  own  shop, 
that  if  it  was  sent  to  them  by  the  bishop,  they  would 
not  publish  it. 

It  was  surprising  that  when  such  books  as  I  have 
mentioned  were  publicly  advertised  in  the  shops,  and 
when  the  papers  were  full  of  attacks  upon  priests  and 
Pope,  many  of  them  calculated  to  do  nothing  but  excite 
rancor,  one  could  not  find  a  Bible  in  any  accessible  place. 
By  the  help  of  previous  information,  I  did  find,  away  in 
a  back  street,  up  a  few  pair  of  stairs,  in  a  poor  house,  a 
few  boxes  containing  Bibles,  and  any  one  who  had  the 
same  information  and  the  same  perseverance  might  buy 
them.  There  were  also  some  hawkers  employed  in  the 
surrounding  country ;  but  surely  it  would  not  be  much 
if,  in  such  a  city  as  Milan,  the  Bible  Society  went  to  the 
expense  of  taking  a  good  shop,  in  a  good  situation,  and 
having  the  Word  of  God  put  obviously  within  the  reach 
E 


98  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

of  every  man  in  the  city.  The  person  in  whose  charge 
the  Bibles  were  seemed  an  honest,  sensible  man,  thor- 
oughly aware  of  the  comparatively  Uttle  influence  this 
obscure  mode  of  circulation  could  have,  and  wishing  to 
see  it  supplemented  by  something  more  like  a  public 
endeavor. 

Through  Milan  nms  a  canal,  on  the  bridges  over 
which  one  is  reminded  of  a  curious  passage  in  the  histo- 
ry of  the  city.  One  of  its  old  dukes,  being  placed  under 
excommunication  by  the  Pope,  received  the  Bull  by  the 
hands  of  two  delegates.  He  heard  it,  and  had  them 
driven  in  state  until  they  reached  the  bridge.  They 
did  not  know  why,  but  found  their  carriage  suddenly 
stopped  on  the  bridge,  with  the  water  at  hand,  while 
they  were  surrounded  by  the  guards  of  the  duke,  who 
was  a  tyrant  and  a  desperado.  "My  lords,"  said  the 
duke,  "  whether  would  you  prefer,  to  eat  or  driuk  ?" 
They  looked  at  the  water,  looked  at  the  guards,  and 
said, "  Here  is  too  much  water  to  drink ;  we  shall  pre- 
fer to  eat."  "  Very  well,  you  shall  have  your  choice," 
he  said.  The  Bull  was  produced,  its  parchment  cut  up 
in  pieces,  and  the  dignitaries  of  Rome  were  forced  to 
cat  it,  and  also  the  leaden  seals  by  which  it  was  authen- 
ticated. Yet  this  rebellious  duke  and  the  Pope  were 
afterward  good  friends. 

The  present  ruler  of  Milan  is  of  a  very  diftercnt  stamp 
— ^he  celebrated  Massimo  d'Azeglio.  He  is  tall  and 
thin,  with  a  countenance  upon  which  painful  tlnnking 
has  left  an  expression  of  solemnity  verging  on  sadness. 


MILAN.  99 

He  carries  one  of  those  select  heads,  built  for  broad 
ideas,  which  more  than  clearly,  impressively  annoimce  a 
master  intellect ;  not  merely  an  able  man,  but  one  of 
those  whose  path  is  high  up,  and  his  view  far  forward. 

It  is  very  touching  to  hear  such  a  man  say,  "  Our 
poor  Italy !  I  trust  that  blessings  are  in  store  for  her 
at  last.  She  is  a  country  that  God  has  been  pleased 
terribly  to  chastise  for  ten  centuries  and  more.  We 
must  hope  that  He  now  judges  the  correction  to  be  suf- 
ficient, and  that  He  is  about  to  let  us  see  better  days. 
But  I  always  tell  our  people  that  if  we  are  to  have  a 
happier  lot,  we  must  endeavor  to  merit  it  at  His  hand." 
In  him,  such  expressions  come  from  the  depths  of  a 
great  and  earnest  soul,  that  has  long  been  burdened 
with  the  sufierings  of  his  country ;  and  that,  much  as 
he  has  done  to  promote  the  present  state  of  mind,  by 
which  Italians  are  hailing  one  another  all  over  the  coun- 
try as  brethren,  would  view  the  result,  not  as  his  handi- 
work or  that  of  his  school,  but  as  the  movement  of  the 
Hand  which  does  command  nations. 

From  Milan  we  made  a  day's  run  up  the  Lake  of 
Como,  highly  enjoying  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  by  land 
and  water.  It  was  too  early  in  the  spring  for  the  hills 
to  have  put  on  their  verdure,  and  yet  the  grandeur  and 
the  beauty  were  extreme.  On  those  waters  and  in  the 
town  the  peaceful  fame  of  Yolta  appeared  to  be  entire- 
ly drowned  by  the  thundering  renown  of  Garibaldi. 
The  honest  boatmen,  in  their  terribly  difficult  dialect, 
delighted  to  dwell  upon  the  events  of  the  last  summer ; 


100  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

and  liow  the  fame  of  Garibaldi  passed  from  mountain 
to  mountain,  and  lake  to  lake ;  and  how  the  Austrians 
were  perplexed,  and  the  people  excited ;  and  how  little 
boys  left  their  homes  in  crowds  to  join  the  hero's  stand- 
ard— their  fathers  and  their  mothers  telling  them  that 
they  would  be  of  no  use,  but  afterward  finding  that  they 
had  fought  like  soldiers!  Some  ladies  were  quite  as 
enthusiastic  as  the  boatmen,  pointing  out,  step  by  step, 
the  way  that  Garibaldi's  forces  came  down  the  hiUs, 
the  posts  to  which  he  scattered  them,  the  pomts  at 
which  they  opened  upon  the  Austrian  pickets,  and  then 
the  triumphant  conclusion,  when  the  strong  epemy  made 
an  ignominious  retreat,  carrying  his  splendid  artillery 
away  to  Camerlata.  How  delighted  they  did  seem  to 
be  told  that  even  in  London  they  might  see  coffee- 
houses by  the  name  of  Garibaldi,  and  Garibaldi  pale- 
tots ;  and  for  the  boatmen  especially  it  was  a  notable 
fact  that  in  London  they  might  see  advertised  "  Gari- 
baldi pipes." 

This  enthusiasm  for  the  hero  we  found,  however,  by 
no  means  universal  in  the  country.  One  was  very  often 
told  that  Garibaldi  was  no  statesman,  that  he  was  not  a 
sound  and  safe  politician,  and  several  items  of  informa- 
tion of  that  sort ;  and  even  in  reference  to  liis  soldierly 
qualities  it  would  sometimes  be  said,  "  It  is  true  he  is  a 
wonderful  soldier,  but  then  we  have  so  many  of  them." 
Yet,  with  all  this,  it  was  plain  that  every  Itahan  talked 
of  his  name  Avith  a  certain  pride  and  confidence,  and 
those  who  said  most  by  way  of  drawback  would  often 


MILAN.  101 

wind  it  up  with  the  admission,  "  After  all,  when  the 
work  of  hunting  the  Austrians  is  to  be  done,  there  is 
nobody  like  Garibaldi." 

Here  we  may  relate  a  story  from  the  "  Official  Docu- 
ments." It  was  on  the  4th  of  August,  1849,  shortly 
after  Rome  had  fallen  under  the  arms  of  the  French, 
that  about  twenty  people  were  gathered  round  a  farm- 
house in  the  village  of  Mandriole,  near  Ravenna.  They 
were  laborers  waiting  for  their  week's  pay  from  the 
steward  of  the  Marquis  Guiccioli.  A  phaeton  came  up, 
in  which  a  woman  was  lying  beside  the  man  who  drove. 
He  did  not  look  an  ordinary  man ;  but  the  woman  was 
deadly  ill.  A  doctor  happened  to  be  there :  he  felt  her 
pulse,  and  declared  that  she  was  in  the  last  stage  of 
fever.  The  owner  of  the  house  had  her  carried  into  a 
room  and  laid  upon  a  bed.  A  little  water  was  brought 
to  her  ;  she  tasted  it,  and  died  in  her  husband's  arms. 

Then  that  strong  man  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept. 
It  was  the  voice  of  Garibaldi.  It  was  his  Agnes  who 
lay  there ;  he  gave  vent  to  what  even  a  papal  official 
calls  "  outbursts  of  inconsolable  grief" — charged  the 
family  to  give  that  body  an  honorable  burial.  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  words,  the  tone  would  say, 
"  My  Agnes  was  the  heroine  wife  of  a  hero."  Then  he 
fled  from  the  eyes  of  the  astonished  peasants,  fled  they 
knew  not  whither.  Into  the  jaws  of  the  Austrians  ? 
Into  the  claws  of  the  Pope  ?  !No  ;  but  under  the  wing 
of  Providence,  reserved  to  reappear  at  Yarese,  and  Co- 
mo,  and  Sicily. 


102  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

The  peasants  at  once  foresaw  that  the  simple  fact  of 
their  ha\ing  allowed  Garibaldi's  wife  to  die  upon  their 
bed  would  expose  them  to  the  vengeance  of  the  papal 
government,  and,  in  hope  of  escaping,  they  buried  the 
body  in  a  field.  But  the  Delegate  Lovatelli  makes 
haste  to  tell  the  most  reverend  ruler  at  Bologna,  Bedini, 
that  he  has  sent  police,  and  had  the  two  brothers  who 
owned  the  house  put  in  prison,  and  that  the  court  was 
preparing  for  their  trial.  The  men  were  accused  of 
murdering  the  wife  of  Garibaldi ;  and,  as  no  case  could 
be  made  up,  it  would  seem  that  Bedini  applied  to  the 
Austrians  to  know  what  punishment  they  were  to  suf- 
fer. To  their  credit  be  it  said  that  this  reply  was  re- 
turned :  "  From  the  proceedings  of  the  civil  and  crim- 
inal court  of  Ravenna  against  the  brothers  Stephen  and 
Joseph  Ravaglia,  of  Mandriole,  on  suspicion  of  murder- 
ing the  wife  of  Garibaldi,  it  proves  that  the  proceedings 
have  justly  broken  down ;  and,  considering  that  the 
momentary  reception  afforded  to  the  fugitive  husband 
and  wife  in  the  house  of  the  Ravaglia  was  from  a  mere 
sense  of  humanity,  and  took  place  before  the  notifica- 
tion of  the  5th  of  August  had  been  issued,  that  can  not 
be  cited  as  having  any  bearing  upon  the  act ;  therefore, 
the  better  to  meet  your  honored  communication  of  the 
3d,  lettered  M.  A.  N.  560,  in  which  you  beg  me  to  ex- 
pedite this  matter,  I  directly  order  the  Delegate  of  Ra- 
venna to  discharge  the  brothers  Ravaglia  from  prison."* 

*  Documenti,  part  ii.,  p.  C08-610.  Sec  the  translations,  Append- 
ix A. 


MILAN^.  103 

In  returning  from  Como,  I  called  the  attention  of  a 
priest  who  had  just  put  up  his  breviary  by  making  some 
inquiries,  as  we  passed  Monza,  respecting  the  convent 
mentioned  in  the  "  Promessi  SposV^  of  Manzoni.  He 
at  once  took  up  the  subject,  and  talked  with  literary 
pleasure  of  the  scenes  of  that  beautiful  story  which  lay 
just  about  us.  All  conversations  in  Italy,  at  the  time, 
gradually  turned  to  the  questions  of  the  day.  He 
thought  that  the  European  powers  must  interpose  to 
uphold  the  throne  of  his  holiness.  They  had  such  m- 
terests  at  stake,  his  independence  was  to  them  all  a 
matter  of  such  vital  importance,  that  they  could  not  be 
indifferent ;  in  fact,  his  position  was  necessary  to  the 
Catholic  world,  a  thing  not  to  be  compromised  on  any 
account.  Even  Russia  and  Prussia  had  a  heavy  stake 
in  the  maintenance  of  his  temporal  authority ;  and  in 
1848,  Prussia  had  been  one  of  the  first  powers  to  inter- 
pose, and  would  doubtless  do  so  again.  Poor  fellow ! 
he  used  the  word  "  Catholic"  so  frequently,  and  with 
such  sonorous  emphasis,  that  I  could  not  help  telling 
him  that  with  us  it  had  a  very  different  meaning  from 
"  Roman."  At  first  he  seemed  unable  to  imagine  what 
was  meant.  I  said  the  two  words  were  as  irreconcil- 
able as  "  triangle"  and  "  circle."  At  this  he  simply 
gaped.  "  The  one  means  '  universal,'  a  Church  in  which 
every  Christian  of  every  age  and  nation,  who  believes 
in  and  follows  Christ,  is  recognized,  whatever  errors  of 
opinion  or  forms  he  may  have ;  the  other  means  a  par- 
ticular church,  which  would  fain  be  empress  of  all  oth- 


104  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

ers,  and  holds  accursed  all  Christians,  good  or  bad,  -who 
will  not  absolutely  submit  to  her." 

He  then  began  a  long,  rapid,  and  very  clever  oration, 
uttered  with  as  perfect  connection  and  fluency  as  if  it 
came  from  a  professor's  chair.  He  showed  how,  after 
the  first  council,  the  Council  of  Jerusalem,  where  St. 
Peter  had  originally  established  his  see,  he  removed  it 
to  the  city  of  Antioch,  thence  to  Rome ;  how,  wherever 
he  went,  he  carried  with  him  the  centre  of  the  Christian 
world;  how  he  finally  estabhshed  it  in  the  imperial 
city,  which,  in  his  day,  was  determined  upon  as  the 
head  of  Christendom.  Therefore  the  matter  was  of 
apostolic  origin,  and  in  all  the  ancient  councils,  and  fa- 
thers, and  creeds,  had  been  recognized  as  of  Divine 
foundation. 

It  was  plain  enough  that  this  was  meant  for  a  final 
deliverance,  and  he  looked  a  very  strange  sort  of  disap- 
pointment when  he  heard  it  quietly  said,  "The  point 
was  never  started  in  the  most  ancient  councils,  and 
'  Roman'  is  not  to  be  found  in  one  of  the  ancient  creeds. 
The  early  councils  were  summoned,  not  in  Rome,  but 
elsewhere ;  not  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  but  by  the  em- 
perors or  others ;  the  Bishop  of  Rome  did  not  preside ; 
and  it  was  only  in  comparatively  modern  times  that  any 
thing  like  a  council  was  held  in  Rome,  or  that  the  word 
'  Roman'  found  its  way  into  any  creed.  In  the  ancient 
creeds  you  have  'catholic  Church,'  but  never  *  Roman.' " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  he  said,  "  we  have  catholic,  apostolic,  and 
Roman  too." 


MILAN.  105 

"  In  all  the  ancient  creeds  ?" 

"To  be  sure." 

"In  the  Apostles'  Creed?" 

"Most  certainly,  yes.  In  the  Apostles'  Creed,  of 
course  you  have." 

"You  have  the  Breviary  in  your  pocket:  will  you 
just  do  me  the  favor  to  look  ?" 

He  pulled  it  out  without  a  doubt  upon  his  mind, 
turned  to  one  place,  seemed  puzzled ;  turned  to  an- 
other, looked  a  good,  long,  conclusive  look,  then  lifted 
up  his  spectacled  eye,  and  said  with  a  good  grace,  "  It 
is  not  here."  It  was  plain  that  a  new  fact  had  come 
before  him. 

He  then  tried  the  old  plan  of  talking  me  down ;  and 
as  his  Italian  ran  like  a  mill-race,  and  mine  came  like 
liquid  from  a  bottle  with  part  of  the  cork  in  the  neck, 
my  poor  argument  had  small  chances.  Still  I  did 
manage  to  make  him  hear  me  say  that  creeds  and 
forms,  however  good,  did  not  make  Christians;  that 
there  must  be  the  "Word  of  God  to  instruct,  and  His 
Spirit  to  regenerate.  He  then  broke  into  a  vehement 
denimciation  of  the  unchristian  wickedness  of  the  peo- 
ple generally,  laying  to  that  score  the  fact  of  their  en- 
mity against  the  Pope  and  Church ;  if  they  were  only 
such  Christians  as  I  had  mentioned,  all  would  go  well. 
"How  can  we,"  I  said,  "expect  a  population  to  be 
Christian,  when,  perhaps,  they  have  never  seen  the  Word 
of  God  in  their  lifetime,  and  scarcely  any  of  them  has 
ever  read  a  chapter  of  it  ?"  To  this  he  assented,  ap- 
E2 


106  ITALY   IN  TKANSITION. 

parently  without  seeing  what  it  implied.  I  then  tried 
to  give  an  account  of  what  constituted  a  true  conver- 
sion of  the  soul,  and  renewal  of  the  life  in  the  image  of 
God.  This  he  heard  with  real  interest,  and  exclaimed, 
"Yes;  but  only  grace  can  do  that."  He  was  good- 
tempered  throughout,  and  both  intelligent  and  able. 

Would  it  have  been  so  safe  a  year  before,  on  that 
soil  of  Lombardy,  thus  openly  to  discuss  with  a  priest 
the  vital  point  of  Rome's  claims  ?  It  was  Lent,  the 
preaching  season ;  for  in  the  Church  of  Rome,  although 
there  is  scarcely  any  preaching  all  the  year  round  (ex- 
cept in  a  few  select  places),  in  Lent  courses  of  sermons 
are  delivered  almost  every  where.  I  heard  in  a  large 
church  a  sermon  on  the  duty  of  love  to  our  neighbors. 
The  congregation  was  very  considerable,  with  a  fair 
proportion  of  men.  The  discourse  was,  for  the  most 
part,  unexceptionable — a  straightforward  ordinary  ex- 
position of  the  Christian  duty  of  doing  as  one  would 
be  done  by.  It  was  delivered  in  a  perfunctory  style, 
but  was  quite  as  good  as  plenty  of  sermons  one  may 
hear  in  England. 

During  my  stay  in  Milan  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
witnessing  a  distinguished  assembly  of  Milanese,  and  to 
hear  the  opinions  that  were  freely  expressed.  The 
Milanese  are  tall,  grave,  and  dark.  The  ladies  have 
often  splendid  figures  and  striking  faces,  but  few  have 
the  look  of  what  wo  should  call  downright  womanly 
happiness.  One  could  not  select  many  and  say,  "There 
is  a  happy  young  wife,"  "  There  is  a  mother  full  of  the 


MILAN.  107 

joys  of  home."  How  much  this  cast  of  countenance 
may  have  to  do  with  the  long  pressure  of  political  suf- 
fering, how  much  with  family  life,  one  can  not  tell.  In 
a  company  of  about  three  hundred  I  did  not  see  more 
than  three  ladies  or  three  men  with  fair  hair,  and  not  a 
single  one  with  a  touch  of  red  in  either  the  hair  or  the 
whiskers.  It  was  rather  a  curious  fact,  but  a  fact  it 
was,  that  nearly  all  the  really  pretty  girls  in  the  room 
were  noticeable  for  the  quietness  of  their  head-dress 
and  neck-ornaments :  not  that  the  others  were  extrava- 
gantly dressed,  for  generally,  although  rich,  the  attire 
was  in  good  taste.  Upon  the  great  questions  of  the 
moment  there  was  a  uniform  vein  of  earnest  enthusiasm. 
When  the  religious  bearings  of  them  were  mentioned, 
there  seemed  some  curiosity  to  find  what  an  Enghsh- 
man  thought ;  and  yet,  whenever  one  talked  upon  re- 
ligion as  if  one  meant  it,  an  odd  sort  of  look  would  be 
given,  as  if  to  say,  "Are  you  not  another  sham?"  that, 
perhaps,  being  the  normal  idea  they  have  of  any  one 
who  feels  on  such  points. 

A  very  fine  young  man  came  up  to  ask  me  if  I  had 
lost  an  eye-glass. 

"This  is  an  interesting  time  for  a  stranger  to  come 
to  Milan,"  I  began. 

"  Very  much  so.     I  only  came  yesterday." 

"  Then  you  are  not  a  Milanese  ?" 

"  No,  I  am  a  Roman." 

"  How  are  things  going  on  at  Rome  ?" 

"  Oh,  as  for  us,  things  are  as  bad  as  they  can  be  ;  we 


108  ITALY  IX  TRANSITION. 

are  entirely  under  the  priests,  and  can  do  nothing  but 
suffer,  and  long  for  the  time  when  we  shall  be  joined  to 
the  rest  of  the  nation ;  but  our  great  difficulty  is  the 
Pope.  What  to  do  we  do  not  know."  I  asked  if  the 
Pope,  as  a  man,  was  not  personally  liked.  He  pouted 
his  lips  :  "  He  is  nobody  :  Antonelli  is  Pope,  Antonelli 
is  every  thing."  He  then  burst  out  into  the  usual 
strain,  inveighing  strongly  against  the  Pope's  govern- 
ment. 

In  conversation  with  a  Piedmontese  politician  of 
great  name,  when  the  question  of  the  pending  excom- 
munication came  up,  he  smiled  and  said,  "Well,  the 
Catholic  belief  is  not  so  absurd  as  some  may  think ;  for 
the  true  Cathohc  doctrine  is,  that  excommunication  has 
no  validity  unless  pronounced  for  spiritual  offenses,  and 
in  this  case  it  would  be  purely  on  temporal  grounds." 
I  replied  that  this  idea  was  very  prevalent  among  the 
people,  but  to  me  it  seemed  that,  if  an  excommunica- 
tion were  promulgated  by  the  vicar  of  Christ,  with  the 
council  of  the  Cardinals,  it  came  with  all  the  author- 
ity the  Roman  Church  could  give  it,  whether  on  one 
ground  or  another ;  and,  besides,  a  temporal  injury 
done  to  the  vicar  of  Christ  is  easily  proved  to  be  a  spir- 
itual offense.  "  Nevertheless,"  he  said,  "  an  excommu- 
nication on  merely  political  grounds  is  invalid,  accord- 
ing to  true  Catholic  doctrine." 

"  Well,  of  course,  I  understand  catholic  in  a  different 
sense ;  for  to  me  the  words  '  catholic'  and  '  Roman'  are 
not  only  different,  but  irreconcilable  terms." 


MILAN.  109 

He  seemed  rather  perplexed,  and  I  continued :  "  I 
am  a  Catholic  ;  I  use  the  word  in  the  sense  of  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed,  Ayhich  says,  '  I  believe  in  the  holy  catholic 
Church ;'  that  I  say  from  my  heart ;  but  mark !  the 
word  '  Roman'  is  not  there.  Had  the  Creed  been  writ- 
ten in  modern  times,  it  would  not  have  been  expressed 
as  it  is  ;  the  word  '  Roman'  must  have  been  in,  and  that 
would  have  altered  the  whole  character  of  it.  The  Ro- 
man is  a  particular  Church ;  and  when  that  creed  was 
wi'itten,  there  was  one  catholic  Church  throughout  the 
world." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  cathoUciis^ '  universal,'  yes." 
"  Yes,  there  was  then  one  universal  Church  —  the 
Church  in  Palestine,  Asia  Minor,  Egypt,  Greece,  Italy, 
France,  Spain  —  one  catholic  Church,  in  which  all  the 
particular  churches  were  sisters  and  equals.  There  was 
then  no  particular  Church,  not  even  the  mother  Church 
at  Jerusalem,  that  claimed  to  be  dictator  to  all  the  oth- 
ers. After  the  conversion  of  the  Roman  emperors,  and 
the  accession  of  masses  of  more  than  half  pagan  people 
as  nominal  adherents  to  Christianity,  the  Bishops  of 
Rome  gradually  set  themselves  up  to  be  emperors  of 
the  Churches,  as  the  others  had  been  of  the  nations. 
By  degrees,  they  procured  the  subjection  of  some 
churches,  and  finally  made  a  schism  with  all  the  Chris- 
tian world  which  would  not  submit  to  their  dictation. 
From  that  time  there  existed  a  particular  Church,  de- 
nying and  anathematizing  all  Christians  that  did  not 
entirely  bow  down  to  her.     You  will  never  find  the 


110  ITALY   IN  TEANSinON. 

word  '  Roman'  in  ancient  creeds ;  it  is  only  in  modem 
ones,  after  a  particular  Church  had  sought  to  replace 
the  universal  one.  \Yhat  I  want  to  see  in  Italy  is,  not 
that  the  people  should  seek  a  model  in  England  or 
America,  but  that  they  should  go  back  to  the  Xew  Test- 
ament, and  to  the  authentic  records  of  the  first  Chris- 
tian age,  and  find  again  that  ancient  pure  Church  which 
was  planted  in  this  country  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  and 
brmg  her  back  to  be  the  blessing  and  glory  of  Italy." 

This  was  Hstened  to  probably  with  much  doubt,  but, 
at  all  events,  with  perfect  patience,  and  apparently  some 
interest.  We  then  spoke  upon  the  character  of  the  Ital- 
ian people.  He  said  how  long  and  how  dreadfully  they 
had  been  ill  used,  and  were  therefore  in  many  respects 
behind;  but  oh,  how  intensely  did  he  seem  to  love  them! 
This  led  to  an  allusion  to  NajDles,  and  to  the  remark  that 
they  appeared  the  worst  specimen  of  the  Italian  people 
I  had  seen.  "  When  in  Naples,  it  appeared  to  me  that 
the  king's  palace  was  the  most  emblematic  building  I 
ever  saw;  it  was  surrounded  by  all  the  symbols  of  his 
government.  Upon  this  side  the  arsenal,  his  first  in- 
strument. Force ;  behind  it  the  theatre,  his  second  in- 
strument. Amusement ;  below,  under  the  portico,  the 
public  letter-writer  and  his  desk,  the  next  instrument, 
Popular  Ignorance." 

My  interlocutor  at  this  point  broke  into  a  quiet  laugh, 
and  finished  the  sentence  exactly  as  I  meant  to  do, 
"  And  in  front,  the  Church,  the  next  instrument,  Super- 


MILAN.  Ill 

A  bending  old  man,  evidently  holding  some  public 
place,  said,  "You  (the  English)  have  been  our  best 
friends  all  through.  We  see  that  now.  You  have  been 
faithful  and  disinterested." 

I  said,  "  It  is  quite  true  that  at  the  opening  of  the 
war  we  did  not  approve  of  it,  for  we  have  no  confidence 
in  benefits  to  a  nation  from  the  arms  of  another ;  and, 
besides,  we  suspected  that  the  emperor  had  two  objects 
— Savoy  for  himself,  and  Tuscany  for  his  cousin." 

"  Ah  !"  he  said,  "  you  saw  farther  than  we  did.  We 
believed  his  professions.  Well,  here  we  are  !  He  pays 
himself  well.    He  went  to  war  for  an  idea." 

"Yes,  and  a  very  practical  idea  too.  Savoy  with 
Mont  Blanc  and  the  Alpine  lakes  is  a  lofty  and  brilliant 
idea.  But  still,  if  Italy  be  united,  you  can  do  without 
Savoy." 

"  Ah !  I  hope  so ;  but  we  shall  have  great  difficulties 
to  pass  through  yet.  Poor  Yenetia !  What  is  to  be- 
come of  Yenetia  ?  It  is  terrible  to  think  of  all  they  are 
suifering ;  but  the  greatest  difficulty  of  all  is  the  Pope. 
That  always  has  been  Italy's  trouble,  and  threatens  to 
be  so  worse  than  ever." 

"  And  what  do  you  suppose  will  be  the  end  ?" 

"  Who  can  tell  ?     I  don't  know." 

"  What  about  the  excommunication  ?" 

He  lowered  his  voice  and  said,  "  It  is  come,  but  it 
will  produce  little  effect :  in  Piedmont,  perhaps  some ; 
but  here  in  Lombardy,  no."  (A  little  while  before,  a 
Piedmontese  officer  had  been  saying  that  it  would  pro- 


112  ITAIiY  IN  TEANSITION. 

duce  no  effect  in  Piedmont,  but  some  in  Lombardy.) 
The  old  man  went  on :  "  We  are  not  now  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  Such  acts  have  lost  then*  power.  We 
regret  them,  but  are  not  afraid." 

"  To  me,"  I  said,  "  cursing  does  not  seem  to  be  part 
of  the  work  of  Christ's  Church.  He  gave  his  apostles 
commission  to  save  souls ;  but  to  put  them  into  peril  of 
damnation  is  not  the  work  of  any  one  commissioned  by 
Him." 

"  No,  no,  no,  it  is  wrong,  and  ought  not  to  be  feared." 
But  this  was  said  with  the  tone  of  a  man  whose  convic- 
tions spoke,  while  something  in  his  breast  sounded  rath- 
er hollow,  as  if  an  old  misgiving  troubled  him. 

"  Well,  for  us  English,  of  course,  the  malediction  of 
the  holy  Father  seems  a  very  harmless  thing." 

He  looked  an  earnest  look,  which  said,  "  Do  let  me 
hear  why." 

"  Three  centuries  ago  that  malediction  was  laid  upon 
us.  Since  then  we  n^ver.once  have  had  his  blessing. 
Wliat  was  England  then  ?  A  small,  disunited,  igno- 
rant, superstitious,  third-rate  power.  From  that  day 
dates  our  national  greatness  and  welfare." 

"  Ah !"  he  cried,  with  a  splendid  smile  upon  his  grave 
old  face,  the  light  of  a  well-read  history  kindling  up, 
"  Ah !  it  was  so.  From  the  time  of  your  breach  with 
the  Pope  your  glory  began." 

"  Yes ;  and,  in  spite  of  his  curse,  it  has  steadily 
grown ;  but  mark !  it  has  not  been  a  growth  of  mere 
political  glory,  but  that  has  all  been  founded  on  the 


MILAN.  113 

gi'owth  of  religion  and  virtue.  We  have  far  more  re- 
ligious knowledge  and  the  fear  of  God,  and  they  are  in- 
creasing in  our  country.  At  the  period  I  refer  to,  our 
people  learned  to  go  and  seek  for  religion  m  the  'New 
Testament." 

"  That  is  the  true  source  of  the  Christian  religion." 

"  Yes,  there  it  is  as  taught  by  Christ  and  the  apos- 
tles ;  and  then  the  proof  that  the  curse  of  God  has  not 
rested  where  the  curse  of  the  Pope  rests,  and  the  bless- 
ing of  God  where  his  blessing  abounds,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  moral  condition  of  our  people,  and  of  those  of 
the  States  of  the  Church  and  Naples.  God  forbid  that 
I  should  set  up  our  people  as  a  model ;  they  are  very 
far  from  it.  We  have  causes  of  shame  without  num- 
ber ;  but  still  the  fact  remains  that,  in  the  States  of  the 
Church  and  Naples,  constantly  refreshed  with  the  Pope's 
benedictions,  out  of  a  milUon  people,  about  two  hundred 
are  yearly  accused  of  murder,  and  in  England  only  four. 
Where  does  the  blessing  of  God  rest  ?" 

His  face  beamed  as  if  I  had  given  him  a  little  fortune. 
Whether  his  pleasure  arose  from  relief  to  some  fears  in 
his  own  mind,  or  from  acquiring  a  fact  he  could  use 
with  others,  I  could  hardly  tell. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  our  poor,  poor  Italy  has  suffered. 
Oh,  how  ill-used  our  people  have  been !  They  may  well 
be  backward  in  many  things ;  but  it  is  pleasant  to  think 
you  can  tell  our  friends  in  England  that  you  have  found 
moderation  and  order  among  us.  After  all,  Italy  may 
be  united  and  happy  yet." 


114  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION, 

There  was  a  weight  of  sorrow  and  a  tenderness  of 
hope  in  these  words  that  would  have  melted  any  one. 
"  May  God  grant  it !"  I  said,  with  deep  feeling. 

"  Oh,"  he  rephed,  "  you  can  not  tell  how  sweet  it  is, 
after  all  we  have  passed  through,  to  hear  a  foreigner, 
an  Englishman,  speak  with  such  heart  of  our  country. 
Perhaps  she  has  a  future  before  her." 

I  said,  "  I  trust  God  may  have  great  things  in  store 
for  her ;  and  if  she  became  really  free,  united,  and  en- 
lightened— in  the  family  of  nations  Italy  will  be  the 
fairest  sister."  The  old  man  looked  as  if  he  could  have 
hugged  me. 


THE  GREAT  PLAIN. 


The  road  from  Milan  to  Piacenza  leads  through  a 
country  as  dull  as  the  flats  of  Egypt.  The  fields  were 
laid  out  for  rice,  and  provided,  of  course,  with  artificial 
irrigation.  The  peasants  are  sallow,  and  dried  up  with 
fever.  One  never  mistakes  the  difference  between  the 
effect  of  a  healthy  sun  upon  complexion,  and  that  of  sun 
combined  with  malaria.  The  one  gives  a  hardy  brown, 
deepening  regularly,  according  as  temperature  rises  or 
exposure  is  increased ;  the  other  underlays  the  skin  with 
discolored  matter,  combining  a  sort  of  chronic  jaundice 
with  the  hue  of  mahogany. 

The  three  things  in  man's  physical  appearance  on 
which  climate  tells  most  obviously  are  the  complexion, 
the  hair,  and  the  eye.  In  cold  climates  the  skin  is  white, 
the  eye  blue,  or  lighter,  and  the  hair  fair.  The  farther 
you  go  toward  the  troj)ics,  the  darker  they  all  become ; 
and  when  to  heat  are  added  damp  flats  and  malarious 
airs,  the  process  of  darkening  is  combined  with  one 
which  leads  to  the  sallow  appearance  we  see  in  the  fe- 
verish regions  of  America  and  Italy.  Among  the  ne- 
groes it  has  reached  a  point  at  which  the  change  in  the 
skin  appears  to  offer  some  protection  against  deadly  ex- 


118  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

temal  influences.  In  England,  the  blue  and  gray  eye, 
light  hair,  and  fair  skin  prevail.  In  France  the  eye  is 
often  brown,  but  the  majority  are  gray,  and  Hght  hau* 
is  much  rarer :  a  great  diflerence  exists,  as  also  in  Ger- 
many, between  north  and  south.  In  Italy  a  dark  gray 
eye  may  frequently  be  found,  the  bright  blue  one  scarce- 
ly ever,  except  high  up  in  mountains ;  but  the  national 
eye  is  brown,  frequently  black,  and  generally  prominent. 
Black  hair  and  a  healthy  pale  complexion  arc  also  gen- 
erally prevalent.  But  the  peasants  are  often  browner 
than  persons  of  rank  in  India,  who  have  all  their  life 
been  kept  from  the  sun.  There  is  no  place  where  one 
so  naturally  observes  the  influence  of  climate  as  going 
up  the  Nile.  At  the  mouth  of  it  you  find  whiteness 
very  little  different  from  that  of  South  Europe,  except 
in  those  who  are  much  exposed  to  the  sun ;  but  steadi- 
ly, as  you  proceed  upward,  the  color  deepens,  imtil  you 
come  to  the  thorough  black  of  the  Nubian ;  the  eye  at 
the  same  time  passing  from  gray  or  light  brown  to  dark 
brown,  and  then  intense  black ;  the  hair  becoming  first 
black  in  every  instance,  then  stiff  and  glossy,  and  then 
finally  beginning  to  indicate  the  woolly  character,  wliich 
is  to  be  found  fully  developed  among  the  real  Nigritian 
families.  The  animal  kingdom  shows  the  same  effects 
in  hair  both  as  to  quality  and  color;  even  to  this  extent, 
that  in  tropical  countries  sheep,  instead  of  a  fleece,  have 
hair  like  a  dog. 

Physically,  the  Italian  race  is  one  of  the  very  finest 
m.oi!  ilie  face  of  the  earth.     Whether  we  take  tlic  Pied- 


THE    GKEAT   PLAIN.  119 

montese  or  Lombards  on  the  north,  the  Tuscans  and 
Romans  at  the  centre,  or  the  Neapolitans  at  the  south, 
every  where  you  find  magnificent  frames  of  men  and 
■women.  It  may  be  that  they  are  indolent,  as  is  so  fre- 
quently said ;  but  it  is  hard  to  go  among  them,  watch 
them  in  the  field,  in  the  workshops,  in  the  towns,  with- 
out gradually  acquiring  the  conviction  that,  with  proper 
government,  and  fair  rewards  for  industry,  they  will  be 
every  thing  that  ought  to  be  expected  from  a  Southern 
people.  It  is  not  fair  to  look  for  exactly  the  same  kind 
of  working  hardihood  in  such  a  climate  as  that  of  Italy 
as  one  has  a  right  to  expect  in  England  or  Scotland. 

Driving  along  this  great  plain,  one  has  a  clear  view 
of  the  physical  conformation  of  Italy.  To  the  west  and 
to  the  north  lie  the  Alps,  which  are  for  Italy  precisely 
what  the  Himalayas  and  the  Hindoo  Coosh  are  for  In- 
dia, protecting  it  north  and  west  from  all  the  world ; 
and  here,  as  there,  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  mount- 
ain wall  lies  an  immense  plain^  that  of  the  Po,  answer- 
ing very  fairly  to  that  of  the  Ganges.  On  this  plain 
Turin  is  the  first  great  city  toward  the  west,  and  Venice 
the  sorrowful  queen  of  the  east.  Milan  and  a  host  of 
other  great  places  lie  between.  Parma  and  Bologna 
are  upon  its  southern  skirt,  and  away  stretches  that  fat 
plain,  laying  open  a  territory  of  inexhaustible  riches  to 
one  of  the  fairest  skies  that  ever  shone.  Along  the 
south  of  it  run  the  Apennines,  which,  as  well  as  the  Alps, 
are  within  view  at  most  points.  These  do  not  cross 
the  whole  continent,  but,  turning  southward,  form  the 


120  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

remainder  of  the  country.  Beyond  the  valley  of  the 
Po  Italy  is  scarcely  any  thing  but  the  Apennines,  their 
valleys,  dells,  summits,  outlying  chains,  and  sub-chains, 
with  two  strips  of  flat  territory  between  them  and  the 
sea  on  both  sides.  Very  often  the  mountains  encroach 
upon  this  Httle  bit  of  plain,  and  rush  right  into  the  wa- 
ter. We  talk  of  "  the  backbone"  of  England,  but  these 
are  really  the  backbone  of  Italy.  Herodotus  said  long 
ago  that  Egypt  was  the  gift  of  the  Nile ;  and  it  might 
be  said,  with  almost  equal  justice,  that  Italy  is  the  gift 
of  the  Apennines.  The  one  is  a  strip  in  a  desert  of 
rock,  given  by  a  river ;  the  other  a  strip  in  a  desert  of 
water,  given  by  a  chain  of  mountains. 

We  passed  the  town  of  Melagnano,  where  the  French 
gave  the  Austrians  a  heavy  beating — taking  a  thousand 
prisoners,  and  leaving  eight  hundred  of  their  own  dead. 
The  town  was  full  of  the  marks  of  the  terrible  struggle, 
and  the  mound  of  the  dead,  with  its  simple  cross,  was 
fresh.  It  was  a  curious  example  of  the  value  of  local 
tradition  that  we  could  not  learn  the  name  of  the  gen- 
eral who  commanded.  My  memory  suggested  Bara- 
guay  d'llilliers,  but  those  mentioned  were  M'Mahon, 
Niell,  Canrobert.  Even  a  French  soldier,  whom  we 
met  with  at  Lodi,  was  very  doubtful,  but  at  last  said  it 
was  Niell.  Now  this,  be  it  remembered,  was  only  about 
nine  months  after  the  battle  had  been  fought. 

Lodi  was  our  half-way  house,  as  dirty  and  dull  a 
town  as  a  traveler  could  wish  to  see.  Of  course  we 
went  to  the  Bridge  of  Lodi;  and,  oh  dear!  liow  it  did 


THE   GREAT   PLAIN.  121 

spoil  one's  boyish  ideas !  When  I  read  Scott's  Life  of 
ISTapoleon,  I  should  have  thought  it  worth  any  thing  to 
see  the  Bridge  of  Lodi.  It  is  long,  narrow,  ugly,  built 
of  wood,  ill  shaped,  ill  kept,  and  half  burned  by  the  Aus- 
trians — a  contemptible-looking  affair.  Yet  from  these 
dirty  planks  went  forth  a  blast  of  fame  that  bore  the 
name  of  young  Bonaparte  into  every  barrack  and  every 
drawing-room  of  Europe — one  proof  more  that,  in  the 
career  of  life,  not  the  splendor  of  the  theatre,  but  the 
quality  of  the  actions,  carries  real  power. 

As  we  were  finishing  dinner,  the  waiter  most  civilly 
said,  in  a  low  voice,  but  loud  enough  for  the  ladies  to 
hear,  "The  road  is  not  too  safe;  you  had  better  not 
travel  on  by  night."  Those  ugly  words,  prettily  spo- 
ken, brought  up  images  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  with 
Bedouins,  and  pistols,  and  spears.  I  am  not  sure  but  I 
had  rather  fall  into  the  hands  of  an  Arab  than  of  an 
Italian  brigand.  I  said  something  by  which  I  hoped  to 
get  rid  of  the  waiter ;  but  he  gently  added,  "  You  had 
better  not  go ;  unpleasant  things  might  happen."  The 
ladies  heard  him ;  but  all  seemed  alive  to  the  arts  of 
Italian  innkeepers.  Ko  one  proposed  that  we  should 
stay  for  the  night.  When  I  ordered  our  vetturi7io  to 
put  to  the  horses,  he  made  no  objection.  Meeting  the 
waiter,  I  said  reproachfully,  "  You  pretend  that  the  road 
is  not  safe."  He  replied,  "  I  assure  you  it  is  not  w^ell  to 
travel  by  night.  It  is  only  a  few  days  since  the  dili- 
gence was  attacked." 

"You  do  not  mean  that  there  can  be  any  danger 
F 


122  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

before  nine  o'clock  in  the  approach  to  a  city  like 
Piacenza?" 

>  He  seemed  rather  ashamed,  and,  feeling  certain  that 
we  were  to  go,  acknowledged  that  there  could  not  be 
any  danger  before  that  horn*. 

Away  we  went  along  the  same  kind  of  country,  and 
saw  the  sun  set  grandly  behind  heavy  clouds.  The 
night  fell,  and  for  three  hours  we  drove  along  in  the 
dark ;  and  after  the  conversation  at  the  inn,  be  it  men- 
tioned to  the  credit  of  English  women,  that  though 
three  were  in  the  carriage,  the  w^ord  "brigand"  was 
never  named.  Whether  or  not  it  was  the  Bridge  of 
Lodi  that  inspired  this  heroism,  I  can  not  say,  but  am 
inclined  to  think  not ;  for,  after  the  uncomfortable  fash- 
ion of  English  women,  the  ladies  seemed  more  oflfended 
with  the  dirt  of  Lodi  than  inspired  with  its  glory. 

For  a  long  time  the  lamps  at  the  gate  of  Piacenza 
gleamed  across  the  plain  as  we  slowly  and  wearily  made 
our  way  to  the  banks  of  the  Po ;  then  we  came  upon  a 
great  bridge  of  boats,  loosely  put  together,  to  replace 
the  one  which  the  Austrians  had  destroyed.  The  river 
is  immensely  broad.  We  passed  through  ruins  upon 
ruins  of  fortifications  demolished  by  the  Austrians ;  then 
by  a  huge  building,  like  some  two  or  three  of  the  great- 
•  est  Manchester  warehouses  piled  together,  which  we  un- 
derstood was  a  barrack;  finally  through  a  narrow  and 
dirty  street  into  the  hotel.  Here  we  found  an  odd  com- 
bination of  grandeur,  kindness,  and  dirt.  The  latter  is 
a  very  tolerable  thing  for  a  well-seasoned  traveler  as 


THE    GREAT   PLAIN.  123 

long  as  it  continues  inanimate ;  but  live  dirt  is  a  serious 
matter ;  and  in  this  hotel  we  found  quartered  a  strong 
force  of  the  tiny  but  active  police  appointed  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  uncleanly. 

This  hotel  at  Piacenza  was  on  a  large  scale,  and  had 
some  grand  rooms ;  and  any  thing  more  pleasant  than 
the  attention  of  the  people  could  not  be ;  but  it  would 
do  discontented  folk  in  England  good  if  one  could  only 
have  led  them  into  a  part  of  the  establishment  over 
which  was  inscribed  the  cleanly  word  "  Baths."  Think- 
ing something  comfortable  might  be  found  under  such 
an  announcement,  I  opened  the  door,  and  such  a  scene 
of  confusion  and  dirt,  though  women  were  washing  in 
it! 

In  the  dining-room  of  the  hotel  at  Piacenza  was  a 
large  company,  apparently  of  men  of  business,  with  one 
lady.  Her  husband  was  from  Bologna,  and  was  giving 
the  rest  stories  as  to  the  papal  government.  He  talked 
in  a  dialect  hard  to  understand,  and  with  much  rapid- 
ity, so  that  I  could  catch  only  the  necks  and  wings  of 
his  facts,  and  I  do  not  attempt  to  repeat  them.  When 
he  had  run  himself  out  of  breath  with  one  story,  his 
wife  reminded  him  of  another,  and  on  and  on  he  went. 
The  statements  were  horrible,  and,  to  us,  beyond  be- 
lief; yet  not  one  Avord  of  doubt  escaped  any  person 
present.  I  could  imagine  that  I  was  back  again  in  the 
Mysore,  hearing  a  knot  of  Brahmins  telling  stories  of  the 
days  of  Hyder  Ali  and  Tippoo  Sahib.  They  were  tales 
of  fines  and  imprisonment  without  any  reason  given ;  of 


124  ITALY  IN  TEAXSinON. 

hundreds  kept  in  dungeons  untried  and  uncondemned ; 
of  mulcts  laid  upon  whole  classes  of  persons  in  a  day ; 
of  plunder  concerted  between  officials  and  robbers,  and 
prey  divided  share  and  share  alike ;  murderers  petted, 
and  thinkers  put  to  death;  and  priests  and  bishops, 
archbishops,  and  cardinals,  and  legates,  all  fingering  and 
dividing  the  spoil.  It  was  something  very  fearful  to 
hear  those  tales,  and  to  see  the  hatred  of  priests,  and 
Church,  and  Pope,  and  Rome — Rome,  odious  Rome — 
that  seethed  in  that  company.  There  was  something  in 
the  expression  of  that  hatred  such  as  I  doubt  whether 
a  company  of  Englishmen  could,  under  any  circum- 
stances, put  on.  If  any  one  has  seen  a  man  in  Rome, 
w^hen  something  that  might  compromise  him  is  said  or 
done,  look  round  as  though  all  the  walls  had  eyes  and 
ears,  he  has  recognized  a  siDCcies  of  fear  as  new  to  him 
as  if  he  had  never  seen  a  man  look  afraid  before — a  kind 
of  fear  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  man  born 
and  brought  up  under  the  British  flag  to  throw  into  his 
countenance.  And  so  with  this  hatred.  It  was  not  vo- 
ciferous, but  it  was  dark  and  hot,  and  lay  down  in  the 
secret  places  of  the  men,  boiling,  and  smelling  of  blood. 
Priests,  priests  —  blacks,  scoundi-els,  robbers,  tyrants, 
devils,  priests — ^how  that  word  priest  was  repeated  with 
every  tone  that  detestation  could  teach !  One  could 
not  but  shudder  to  think  what  a  national  insurrection 
would  be,  led  by  men  like  these ;  and  the  impression 
came  strongly  home,  how  much  Italy  and  Europe  owed 
to  the  fact  that  the  present  national  movement  is  in  tlie 


THE   GREAT  PLAIN.  125 

hands  of  men  of  the  highest  position  and  the  very  first 
stamp — men  who  have  every  thing  to  lose  and  nothing 
to  gain ;  and  who,  however  much  they  may  sympathize 
with  the  body  of  the  people  in  what  they  hate  and  what 
they  desire,  have  yet  knowledge  enough  of  human  af- 
fairs to  feel  that,  above  all  things,  passion  must  be  kept 
imder,  and  order  and  moderation  preserved.  Instead 
of  the  tales  of  this  room,  here  is  one  from  the  "  Official 
Documents." 


The  Three  Men  op  Ferrara. 

Ik  1852,  the  Austrians  arrested,  in  the  city  of  Fer- 
rara, about  forty  citizens  on  a  charge  of  political  con- 
spiracy. The  town  was  struck  with  horror,  which  soon 
increased  by  news  that  came  from  within  the  prison. 
The  prisoners  made  it  known  that  they  were  often  put 
upon  bread  and  water,  laden  with  chains,  beaten  with 
sticks  and  with  fists,  subjected  to  the  "bench"  and  oth- 
er tortures ;  that,  while  one  was  undergoing  this,  his 
companions  were  obliged  to  look  on;  that  they  were 
daily  threatened  with  death;  threatened  with  having 
their  mothers  arrested;  and  that  the  things  they  were 
to  say  were  continually  suggested  to  them ;  and  they 
were  forced  by  the  extreme  of  pain  to  confess,  against 
themselves  and  others,  offenses  that  had  never  occurred. 
After  these  representations  had  reached  a  certain  height, 
they  managed  somehow  to  get  a  communication  sent 
to  the  Count  Camillo  Trotti,  the  mayor  of  the  place,  who 


126  ITALY   IN   TRANSITIOX. 

communicated  with  the  paj^al  government,  but  it  had 
nothing  to  say  to  the  Austrians  but  words  of  encourage- 
ment. Representations  to  the  same  effect  were  also 
sent  to  the  general  commanding  in  chief  of  the  French 
army  at  Rome,  and  to  Mr.  William  M'Alister,  the  Brit- 
ish Consul  at  Ferrara.  The  collection  contains  not  only 
these  documents,  but  a  large  number  of  extracts  from 
private  notes  of  the  prisoners,  in  which  the  words  "bas- 
tinade,"  "irons,"  "hunger,"  "torture,"  "beating,"  "in 
chains  for  two  days  together,"  are  scattered  up  and 
down  with  fearful  frequency,  and  in  which  this  sentence 

occurs :  "  As  for  G ,  they  have  bastinaded  him  two 

days  together,  and  then  read  him  a  confession  of  mine 
which  I  had  never  made."  At  last,  three  men  out  of 
the  number  were  sentenced  to  death.  Their  names 
were  Succi,  Malagutti,  and  Parmeggiani.  The  public 
opinion  was  that  they  were  all  innocent,  even  of  the 
political  offense  alleged  against  them. 

The  Austrian  general  writes  to  the  pontifical  author- 
ities the  night  before  their  execution;  demands  that 
they  should  send  three  "  reserved  and  silent  priests"  to 
be  confessors  of  the  men.  One  of  these  j^riests,  proba- 
bly as  a  part  of  his  duty,  drew  up  an  account  of  all  that 
passed.  This  was  left  in  the  archives  of  his  confrater- 
nity {La  Buona  Morte)^  and  is  reproduced  with  the 
rest  of  the  official  documents.  This  narrative,  in  the 
original  language,  will  be  found  printed  in  the  Appen- 
dix ;*  but  here  we  give  the  substance  of  it. 

♦Appendix  B. 


THE    GREAT   PLAIN.  127 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  15th  of  March,  1853,  the 
three  confessors  were  carried  to  the  prison,  where  they 
had  to  wait  a  long  time,  first,  for  the  return  of  an  officer 
from  dinner,  and,  secondly,  because  the  wife  of  Succi 
was  screaming  dreadfully,  and  would  not  be  removed 
from  the  cell  of  her  husband ;  and  the  wife  of  Parmeg- 
giani  was  taken  with  wild  convulsions,  and  blasphemed 
horribly.  These  poor  women  had  learned  the  fate  of 
their  husbands  from  their  own  mouth. 

The  priests  entered  the  chamber  of  Succi,  who  was 
standing  uncovered,  and  guarded  by  four  armed  sol- 
diers, but  not  in  chains.  They  told  him  that  one  of 
them  had  come  to  keep  him  company,  to  weep  with 
him,  and  to  "  reconcile  him  to  God,"  and  that  he  should 
choose  which.  Succi  said,  in  a  high  tone,  "  I  accept  all ; 
but,  as  I  am  the  oldest  of  the  three  unfortunates,  I  shall 
choose  for  a  confessor  the  oldest."  Then  the  chief 
priest,  throwing  his  arm  around  his  neck,  and  kissing 
him  on  the  forehead,  said,  "  It  is  I."  "  But,"  replied 
the  sufferer,  "  I  wish  first  to  make  a  little  will,  and  to 
say  that  the  confession,  and  the  written  depositions 
which  I  have  made  to  the  military  commission,  have 
been  extorted  from  me  by  violence,  by  the  bench,  by 
bastinading,  and  by  chains ;  and  that  they  did  not  mere- 
ly threaten  me,  but  beat  me ;  and  that  unless  I  meant 
to  die  under  the  lash,  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  that 
I  should  say  what  they  wished." 

The  priests  passed  to  the  cell  of  Dr.  Malagutti.  He 
threw  himself  upon  his  knees,  weeping  bitterly ;  he  kiss- 


128  ITALY   IN   TEAifSITION. 

ed  the  hands  of  all,  and  then  said, "  Thank  God  that  I 
see  a  clergyman  in  this  my  agony,  which  has  oppressed 
me  since  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning."  He  rose  and 
said,  "  I  wish  to  confess  all  my  sins,  and  to  tell  you  that  I 
have  such  confidence  in  the  mercy  of  God  that  it  appears 
to  be  almost  a  sin  of  presumption.  And  let  it  be  known 
that  in  my  examination  I  have  been  forced  to  say  w^hat 
they  wished.  I  have  suffered  horrible  tortures,  which 
have  brought  on  hemorrhage.  You  must  all  stop  w^ith 
me,"  he  said.    He  was  told  that  he  must  choose  one. 

"  Then,"  he  said,  "  let  it  be  my  schoolfellow,  Don  Lui- 
gi  Zaffi." 

Then  they  went  to  Parmeggiani.  He  rose,  kept  his 
hat  on  his  head,  and  said,  "  You  have  come  to  confess 
me?  I  am  innocent.  I  wish  to  confess  in  public,  in 
the  presence  of  the  commission,  and  to  say  that  what  I 
have  said  and  written  has  been  extorted  from  me  by 
suggestive  questions,  by  irons  (leaving  me  an  entire 
month  in  chains  day  and  night),  by  the  stick;  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  they  were  obliged  to  take  me  to  the 
Hospital  of  the  Martyrs,  where  I  was  for  eighteen  days." 
They  told  him  that  he  must  choose  one  of  the  three. 
He  looked  in  the  faces  of  them  all,  and,  knowing  one,  he 
burst  out  weeping,  and  said, "  Father,  you  have  had  a 
wife  and  children ;  you  can  more  easily  pity  an  afflicted 
father,  who  is  leaving  a  wife  and  two  marriageable 
daughters  in  poverty."  Then,  seizing  him  forcibly  by 
the  hand,  he  made  him  sit  down  on  his  bench.* 

*  The  internal  evidence  of  the  narrative  shows  that  it  was  this 


THE   GEE  AT  PLAIN.  129 

Parmeggiani  wept  with  strong  convulsions.  He 
drank  cold  water  and  coffee  all  the  night,  and  was  nev- 
er silent.  He  continually  spoke  of  the  unjust  and  ini- 
quitous mode  of  seeking  the  truth  with  tortures,  "under 
which  both  the  strong  and  the  weak  told  lies."  He 
wrote  a  letter  to  his  wife.  He  made  his  will ;  he  con- 
fessed twice,  and  several  times  asked  for  absolution. 
He  went  through  several  acts  of  devotion.  At  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  said,  "  I  should  like  to  know 
if  my  companions  have  confessed.  Go  and  ask ;  and 
tell  them  that  I  have  confessed,  and  that  I  ask  pardon 
from  them  if,  in  act  or  word,  I  have  caused  them  any 
pain."  Succi  said,  "I  ought  to  ask  pardon  of  him; 
and,  if  we  meet  before  the  execution,  I  will  ask  him  to 
give  me  the  kiss  of  forgiveness."  Malagutti  was  sit- 
ting on  his  bed  with  his  confessor,  smoking  a  cigar, 
and  said  he  had  pardoned  all,  as  he  hoped  God  had 
pardoned  him.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  Par- 
meggiani and  his  confessor  went  down,  and  found  Mal- 
agutti surrounded  by  soldiers.  The  confessor  took  him 
by  his  left  hand,  holding  his  own  sufferer  in  the  right. 
They  kissed  one  another.  At  that  moment  Succi  ar- 
rived; and  then  they  all  three  kissed,  and  said,  "  Adieu." 
They  went  into  the  church,  repeating  the  "Act  of 
Faith."     They  kneeled  at  the  foot  of  the  altar ;  they 

priest  wlio  has  left  the  record.  Human  affections  had  been  waken- 
ed up  in  him  by  family  ties;  and  the  command  that  the  priests 
should  be  "close  and  silent"  had  not  been  well  executed  in  select- 
ing Don  Giuseppe  Poltronien. 

F  2 


130  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

received  the  Holy  Communion  with  the  utmost  devo- 
tion. At  the  reading  of  the  last  Gospel  they  stood  up, 
and  Malagutti  said  aloud, " Oh,  how  light  I  feel!  Lord, 
grant  that  the  years  of  life  taken  away  from  me  may 
be  added  to  my  mother!"  Parmeggiani  rejDeated  the 
prayer,  and  added,  "And  to  my  daughters."  When 
they  arrived  at  the  ground  of  execution,  Succi  and 
Parmeggiani  declined  to  be  bandaged;  and  the  latter 
kneeled  down,  lifting  up  his  united  hands  with  his  eyes 
closed,  repeating,  "Jesus,"  &c.  A  lieutenant  came,  and 
said  he  must  be  bandaged ;  it  was  his  duty ;  and  a  sol- 
dier put  a  white  handkerchief  over  him,  he  still  con- 
tinuing on  his  knees.  They  then  fired  upon  them  into 
the  chest  and  into  the  forehead.  "  Parmeggiani  fell  upon 
his  face,  and  never  moved.     He  died  like  a  martyr." 

On  the  day  of  this  tragedy,  young  Hannibal  Bonac- 
cioli,  a  student  of  eighteen,  left  his  home  for  his  classes 
at  the  University,  and  on  the  way  heard  what  a  deed 
was  being  done.  He  stopped ;  and,  meeting  some  of 
his  comrades,  told  them  to  go  home  and  weep.  The 
crime  of  having  said  tliis  to  several  was  laid  to  his 
charge,  and  he  was  thrown  into  prison.  When  released, 
he  and  his  father  applied  for  permission  to  go  to  see 
another  brother,  living  in  Turin.  This  point  was  not 
decided  without  a  formal  reference  to  the  central  gov- 
ernment at  Rome;  whence  came  an  order,  signed  by 
the  most  reverend  and  most  terrible  name  of  Matteucci, 
giving  permission  for  Hannibal  and  his  father  to  receive 
passports,  but  on  the  condition  that,  if  he  once  left  the 


THE   GEEAT  PLAIN.  131 

State,  he  was  not  to  return.  This  was  inserted  with 
the  threat  that,  in  case  of  his  re-entering  his  native 
country,  he  should  undergo  a  year  of  imprisonment. 
Five  months  afterward  we  find  another  letter  from  the 
same  Matteucci,  directed  to  the  apostoHc  delegate  of 
Ferrara,  and  telling  him  that,  as  Hannibal  had  returned 
to  his  native  town,  he  must  suffer  the  penalty  with 
which  he  had  been  menaced.  He  was  again  thrown 
into  prison,  and  treated  worse  than  a  malefactor.  In  a 
few  months  more  we  find  another  letter  from  Doctor 
Dino  Pesci,  also  to  the  apostolic  delegate,  telling  him 
that  from  childhood  he  had  been  the  friend  of  Hannibal, 
and  that  he  now  had  one  favor  to  ask.  His  old  com- 
panion was  all  but  dying,  and  suffering  terribly ;  he  en- 
treated permission  to  go  to  him,  that  he  might  pass  the 
nights  with  him,  and  some  hours  of  the  day,  to  nurse 
him  in  his  sickness.  But  no  such  comfort  was  to  be 
allowed  to  the  unfortunate  prisoner.  All  that  could  be 
obtained  was,  that  when  his  twelvemonth  of  imprison- 
ment expired  he  should  be  again  set  at  liberty,  "  being 
subjected  to  that  rigorous  political  restraint  sanctioned 
by  the  fact  of  his  having  been  imprisoned  for  a  year." 
But  shortly  after  the  hand  of  Matteucci  wrote  this  gra- 
cious permission,  another  letter  was  written  to  tell  him 
that  Hannibal  Bonaccioli  was  dead — killed  slowly  for 
the  crime  of  having  told  his  comrades  to  weep  for  the 
three  men  of  Ferrara.* 

*  The  documents  illustrating  this  case  are  twenty-five  in  number, 
and  are  found  in  the  second  volume  of  the  "Official  Documents," 
occupying  from  page  539  to  page  565. 


(Cjntptn  nil 

PIACENZA,  PARMA,  AND  MODENA. 


The  name  Piacenza  means  "  charm,  grace,  pleasant- 
ness," &G.  Well,  so  be  it;  it  is  a  pretty  name,  and  it 
is  said,  in  some  of  the  books,  that  Piacenza  is  a  beauti- 
ful city.  Certainly  the  Po  rolls  by  it  broad  and  grand, 
with  the  bridge  of  boats  over  it,  and  the  many  forts 
built  and  blown  up  by  the  Austrians  lie  about  in  sug- 
gestive ruins  ;  but  as  for  the  city  itself,  if  one  must  tell 
the  truth  in  plain  words,  it  is  flat  and  dirty,  without  fine 
buildings  or  pleasant  walks. 

In  the  piazza  two  middle-aged  men  were  standing 
talking  in  that  leisurely  way  that  one  so  rarely  sees  in 
England,  just  as  if  talking  w^ere  the  business  of  life,  and 
standing  at  the  street  corner  the  natural  way  to  carry 
it  on.  They  were  evidently  glad  to  have  their  com- 
pany increased  by  a  foreigner.  Their  tongues  ran  as 
smoothly  as  all  in  the  country  on  the  questions  of  the 
day.  They  pointed  to  the  placards  all  over  the  town, 
"  Victor  Emmanuel  forever !"  "  Annexation  forever  !" 
and  "  Our  Italian  king  !  our  legitimate  king  forever  !" 
for  this  was  the  first  point  we  had  reached  of  the  terri- 
tory which  had  not  previously  belonged  to  Piedmont 
or  been  conceded  by  treaty,  but  had  just  attached  itself 


136  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

by  the  vote  of  annexation.  When  the  question  of  the 
priests  and  the  Church  came  up,  one  of  the  men  showed 
considerable  curiosity  to  know  what  I  as  an  English- 
man would  say,  and  after  a  while  he  turned  to  his  com- 
rade and  remarked,  "  They  used  to  tell  us  that  Protest- 
ants were  not  Christians  ;  that  they  were  a  sort  of  infi- 
dels or  atheists,  or  something  of  that  kind ;  but  we  know 
better  now.  Why,  the  Protestants  have  more  churches 
than  we ;  they  attend  them  more  numerously ;  they  be- 
have in  them  with  a  deal  more  reverence  ;  they  believe 
the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion  much  more  firm- 
ly, and,  what  is  more,  theii*  moral  tone  is  higher ;"  and, 
loweiing  his  voice,  he  said, "  and  then-  priests  have  fam- 
ilies, and  are  good  citizens,  like  other  men." 

Seeing  placards  upon  a  book-shop  announcing  a  set 
of  political  sermons,  one  upon  the  excommunication,  I 
went  in,  and,  purchasing  the  whole  course,  found  that 
the  eyes  of  a  considerable  number  of  customers  were 
fixed  upon  me.  The  subject  of  the  pamphlets  at  once 
led  them  to  talk  upon  this  question.  They  not  only 
agreed  with  me,  but  ran  before  me,  as  to  the  duty  of 
our  learning  religion  directly  from  Christ  and  Ilis  apos- 
tles through  the  Bible ;  but  they  did  seem  puzzled  when 
now  and  then  I  put  in  a  word  to  the  eflcct  that  jDcrson- 
ally  the  Pope  was  a  good  kind  of  man,  and  insisting  that 
there  were  many  good  priests.  Above  all,  they  seemed 
to  think  it  strange  that  one  spoke  of  religion  and  devo- 
tion as  living  things. 

As  we  were  going  round  the  town  for  a  drive,  I  asked 


PIACENZA,  PAEMA,  AND   MODENA.  137 

the  coachman  —  a  yellow,  knife-nosed  fellow,  that  one 
would  not  like  to  meet  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho 
— what  the  people  here  said  about  the  excommunication 
by  the  Pope. 

"  They  want  to  go  and  knock  him  on  the  head,"  he 
growled. 

A  druggist,  into  whose  shop  we  had  gone,  was  soon 
led  into  a  violent  onset  upon  the  poor  Pope.  I  put  in 
a  good  word  for  the  old  man,  using  the  expression, 
''Santo  Padre"  ("Holy  Father"), 

"  Santo  Padre  V  grumbled  the  druggist,  giving  us  a 

suspicious  look;  and,  turning  to  Mr.  B ,  he  asked 

j)lump,  "Are  you  Irish?"  Not  a  little  tickled,  I  said, 
"  N'o,  he  is  English." 

"  Oh,  then  we  may  talk.  The  Irish  have  faith  in  the 
Pope.  Well  for  them !  they  live  far  enough  away  for 
that.  We  are  too  near  not  to  know  what  the  popes  are, 
and  the  cardinals,  and  the  priests,  and  the  monks,  and 
the  nuns,  and  all  the  rest  of  them."  Then  he  said,  "  We 
Italians  know  something  now  about  the  difference  be- 
tween Rome  and  the  Protestants,  and  it  is  high  time 
that  we  were  Protestants  too." 

From  Piacenza  a  railway  runs  along  to  the  east,  leav- 
ing the  Apennines  on  the  right,  and  the  Po  on  the  left. 
The  first  capital  city  to  which  it  brings  you  is  Parma. 
Here  there  was  an  immense  crowd  around  the  station, 
and  I  was  glad  to  share  an  open  carriage  with  a  com- 
mercial traveler,  whose  luggage  filled  it  up.  Every 
where  the  crowds  were  great  and  the  excitement  high. 


138  ITALY    IX   TRANSITIOX. 

They  had  just  gathered  to  witness  the  first  arrival  of 
Piedmontese  cavalry — a  living  proof  that  the  annexa- 
tion had  really  been  accepted  by  the  king,  and  that  pos- 
session was  taken  in  his  name.  What  gay  uniforms  in 
the  street,  and  what  a  buzz  of  triumph  and  hope ! 

The  city  is  really  a  fine  one  as  a  provincial  city ;  but 
we  should  as  soon  think  of  calling  Bath  or  Leamington 
a  capital.  In  fact,  it  is  not  equal  to  either.  At  the  first 
hotel  to  which  we  came,  there  was  "  no  room  ;"  at  the 
second,  "no  room;"  at  the  third,  "no  room."  How 
glad  I  was  that,  for  the  moment,  my  friends  and  I  had 
parted,  they  having  gone  on  directly  to  Bologna !  At 
last,  at  one  hotel,  after  we  had  got  the  same  answer,  a 
waiter  ran  out  and  cried,  "  Yes,  there  is  room."  My 
companion  went  to  see,  I  sitting  and  watching  the 
crowd  in  the  streets.  After  a  good  while  he  returned, 
and,  lookuig  out  of  the  corners  of  both  eyes,  said, 
"  There  is  a  little  bit  of  a  closet,  but  there  is  nothing 
for  you ;"  and  he  began  to  take  down  his  boxes.  I 
bowed  and  smiled,  and  said,  "  There  is  nothing  for  me !" 
The  waiter,  in  a  friendly  voice,  cried,  "  Stop,  sir,  per- 
haj^s  I  can  find  yoii  a  room  in  a  house  hard  by."  Off  he 
went,  and  I  followed.  There  was  a  motherly  old  body 
in  a  good  large  house,  with  a  plentiful  allowance  of 
peaceful,  self-possessed  dirt,  that  had  never  been  molest- 
ed by  the  breath  of  an  Englishwoman.  She  took  me 
up  stairs  into  a  capital  room,  looking  twice  as  comfort- 
able as  one  could  expect.  At  the  foot  of  the  staircase 
was  a  place  open  to  the  sky,  as  is  very  common  in  Ital- 


PIACENZA,  PABMA,  AND    MODENA.  139 

ian  houses ;  snow  was  lying  there,  which  had  fallen  this 
winter,  I  argued ;  but,  from  its  color,  it  might  belong  to 
any  post-diluvian  era.  It  had  evidently  lain  long  in  per- 
fect peace  with  a  rich  black  pall,  except  in  a  spot  or  two 
where  something  had  fallen  upon  it  and  broken  it.  An 
English  hostler  would  have  stared  at  such  a  thing  in  a 
stable-yard — in  fact,  it  could  not  be  endured. 

After  a  survey  of  the  town  and  visits  to  coffee-houses, 
during  which  I  had  such  a  troublesome  companion  of 
toothache  that  I  could  not  get  into  the  usual  conversa- 
tions with  the  people,  I  returned  and  had  a  long  fireside 
chat  with  the  sensible  and  kind  old  woman.  It  seem- 
ed rather  an  event  for  her  to  have  a  live  Inglese  to  en- 
lighten, and  she  put  out  her  powers  with  a  good  will. 
She  praised  Maria  Louisa  very  much,  and  said  all  sorts 
of  bad  things  of  the  present  duchess.  As  to  the  Pope, 
the  priests,  and  nuns,  she  had  not  the  same  bad  feeling 
as  the  men,  but  talked  hghtly  of  them  all.  "  Black  in 
robes  and  black  in  heart,"  she  said ;  "  we  have  a  thou- 
sand, I  dare  say,  of  them  in  Parma,  one  sort  and  an- 
other." I  had  been  struck  with  the  number  in  the 
streets,  most  of  them  looking  depressed,  a  few  content, 
two  in  angry  discussion  with  citizens,  and  some,  poor 
fellows,  looking  really  hungry  and  dirty.  One  could 
not  help  contrasting  the  difference  between  the  tone  in 
which  this  woman  talked  and  that  of  a  person  of  the 
same  class  in  Connaught,  to  whom  a  priest  and  a  nun 
would  be  something  sacred,  a  bishop  almost  superhu- 
man, and  the  Pope  rather  more  than  half  Divine. 


140  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

The  air  and  site  of  Parma  contrast  pleasantly  with 
those  of  Piacenza,  and  the  people  appear  to  differ  a  good 
deal  from  those  of  the  Lombard  plain.  They  are  not 
taller,  but  have  a  fine  complexion ;  not  a  few  of  them 
have  light  hair,  and  many  are  very  handsome.  They  lie 
farther  south,  but  on  more  elevated  ground.  The  most 
beautiful  woman  I  had  yet  seen  in  Italy  was  a  young 
Parmesan  lady. 

In  the  morning  the  old  woman  awoke  me  early ;  and 
talk  of  dirt  as  you  may.  Englishwomen,  with  all  their 
cleanliness',  can  not  give  one  a  cup  of  coffee  like  that. 
I  was  soon  in  my  favorite  second-class  carriage,  having 
now  liberty  to  choose,  as  I  was  alone.  It  is  the  real 
place  for  observing  and  picking  up,  and,  as  to  comfort, 
only  below  the  first  in  idea ;  for  foreigners  say  that  the 
first  class  is  made  for  "  fools  and  Englishmen."  An  old 
colonel,  three  ladies,  a  thin,  sallow  Capuchin  monk,  and 
another  gentleman,  were  in  the  carriage.  The  monk 
had  just  returned  from  South  America  through  En- 
gland. In  spite  of  all  one  heard  against  priests  and 
friars,  something  in  his  suffering  countenance  said,  "  I 
try  to  keep  a  conscience  void  of  offense,  and  am  ready 
to  do  a  good  action."  He  soon  left ;  and  it  was  really 
a  relief  to  hear  the  others  in  the  carriage,  after  a  few 
remarks  upon  his  sickly  looks,  say  that  the  Capuchins 
were  often  sincerely  religious  men.  One  so  generally 
finds  that  a  belief  in  goodness,  particularly  among 
priests,  is  totally  wanting,  that  to  hear  it  expressed  in 
any  way  is  comforting.    They  did,  however,  say  that 


PIACENZA,  PAEMA,  A^D   MODENA.  141 

many  of  the  Capuchins  were  all  they  professed  to  be, 
and  lived  a  penitential  life.  When  asked  what  they 
meant  by  a  penitential  life,  they  expressed  it  as  a  life 
of  severity  and  mortifications  to  the  body,  but  seemed 
entirely  to  agree  that  that  could  not  be  the  kind  of  life 
to  which  all  men  were  called  by  the  voice  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion ;  that  real  penitence  must  consist  in  abhor- 
ring and  fleeing  from  our  sins,  and  following  Christ  in 
newness  of  life.  The  old  colonel,  who  had  been  in  the 
Grand  Army  with  the  first  Napoleon,  and  was  a  Chev- 
alier of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  said  he  had  seen  a  great 
deal  of  Protestants  in  Germany,  and  Holland,  and  oth- 
er countries,  and  he  had  been  particularly  struck  vnth 
their  mode  of  confession ;  that  instead  of  one  man  going 
alone  with  the  priest,  and  trying  to  tell  him  all  he  could 
remember,  and  forgetting  a  great  deal,  a  number  knelt 
down  together  in  public,  and  made  a  general  confession 
to  the  Almighty,  and  asked  Him  to  give  them  absolu- 
tion. 

This  naturally  led  me  to  say  that  in  the  Book  of 
Psalms  and  the  Epistles  in  the  New  Testament  we 
found  the  confessions  of  David  and  Paul,  but  they  were 
confessions  made  direct  to  the  Almighty,  and  never 
consisted  in  detailed  description  of  ofienses,  which,  put 
before  a  human  mind,  have  never  any  efiect  but  that  of 
soiling  it.  They  were  only  such  general  though  deep 
acknowledgments  of  guilt  against  God  as  serve  to  show 
the  penitent  feeling  of  the  heart,  without  defihng  the 
imagination  of  others.     The  others  seemed  to  be  rather 


142  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

surprised  to  hear  a  Protestant  s-peak  in  this  way,  and 
were  still  more  so  Avlien  I  repeated  as  a  summary  of 
my  faith  the  Apostles'  Creed.  They  were  exceedingly 
grave,  and  pulled  me  up  at  the  word  "  catholic,"  and 
asked  if  I  believed  in  that,  and  wondered  at  the  exposi- 
tion of  it.  While  all  the  others  were  silent  and  thought- 
ful, the  old  colonel  was  as  sprightly  as  Champagne,  and 
began  merrily  telling  all  he  had  seen  in  the  way  of  re- 
ligion. On  the  whole,  he  thought  the  Protestants  were 
the  best ;  but  it  was  plain  he  had  not  taken  much  pains 
to  decide  that  question.  The  Quakers  he  had  seen,  and 
took  them  for  rather  an  odd  set — something  very  like 
the  monks,  he  thought. 

The  town  of  Modena  is  entered  by  a  stately  gate, 
and  at  first  presents  the  aspect  of  a  considerable  capital. 
The  duke's  palace  is  more  imposing  than  any  of  ours, 
and  at  first  one  is  ready  to  imagine  that  this  little  pri- 
vate capital  is  going  to  prove  a  city  that  would  aston- 
ish us  in  England ;  but  it  disappoints,  and  is  much  infe- 
rior to  Parma.  It  seems  odd  to  find  two  capitals  within 
an  hour  or  two's  run  on  the  railway;  and  one  can  not 
wonder  that  men,  instead  of  being  content  to  remain 
the  property  of  a  princeling,  should  aspire  to  be  mem- 
bers  of  a  great  nation.  Modena  had  tliat  air  of  inferi- 
ority to  Parma  which  almost  necessarily  follows  a 
harsher  form  of  despotism.  It  was  liere  that,  after  the 
restoration,  the  duke  said  he  did  not  want  enlightened 
men,  but  obedient  subjects  and  submissive  Christians ; 
and  the  mode  of  carrying  on  liis  govcruniont  wns  such 


PIACENZA,  PAEMA,  AND   MODENA.  143 

as  to  lead  Farini  to  say,  "  In  activity  he  had  few  equals, 
in  obstinacy  scarcely  any,  in  perfidy  not  one."*  Insig- 
nificant prince  as  he  was,  he  has  left  a  superb  palace 
and  rich  galleries,  which  it  is  worth  the  while  of  any 
traveler  to  stop  at  Modena  and  see.  The  old  colonel 
and  his  party  met  me  in  the  dining-room  of  the  hotel. 
Two  young  volunteers  in  the  uniform  of  privates  had 
joined  them  and  dined  with  us.  One  was  the  relative 
of  the  ladies  who  accompanied  the  colonel,  and  to  see 
whom  they  had  come ;  the  other  was  the  son  of  a  count, 
who  had  three  brothers  out  as  volunteers.  That  term 
in  Italy  means  one  who  not  only  joins  the  army  without 
being  drawn  in  the  conscription,  but  takes  no  pay.  The 
old  man  seemed  quite  young  again,  and,  beside  the  Cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  which  he  wore,  showed  me  the 
St.  Helena  medal,  which  he  had  carried  in  his  pocket, 
and  then  put  it  on.  He  seemed  to  return  with  amazing 
pride  the  salutations  with  which  both  men  and  officers 
met  him  in  the  street.  The  place  abounded  in  soldiers, 
some  of  them  the  raw  levies  just  coming  under  training, 
and  others  the  thoroughly-formed  legions  of  Piedmont. 
The  old  man  talked  much  of  the  virtues  of  English  ale. 
In  Belgium  he  had  once  had  a  bottle  of  it,  and  said  it 
was  stronger  than  wine.  "  For  twenty-four  hours,"  he 
cried,  "  I  did  not  feel  that  I  was  upon  the  earth." 
Whenever  the  religious  aspects  of  the  questions  of  the 
day  came  into  view,  which  they  were  constantly  doing, 
the  others  wanted  to  hear  them  discussed,  but  the  poor 
*  Istoria  d' Italia. 


144  ITALY   IN  TEANSmON. 

old  colonel  had  always  some  word  to  put  in,  such  as, 
"Do  you  know  that  before  the  French  Revolution  we 
had  twenty  convents  in  Parma  ?" 

"  Twenty  convents  in  that  one  Httle  city  ?" 
"  Yes ;  and  there  was  one  for  men  here,  and  another 
for  women  opposite,  and  an  underground  passage  be- 
between  the  two.    JEcco  /" 

On  the  way  to  Bologna,  I  had  for  companion  a  very 
intelligent  man,  with  his  daughters.  He  gloried  in  the 
present  state  of  the  country ;  but  with  regard  to  pope, 
cardinal,  priest,  and  all  their  kin,  manifested  the  same 
sort  of  hatred  which  had  horrified  me  among  the  men 
in  the  room  at  Piacenza.  When  I  asked  if  we  had  al- 
ready passed  the  papal  frontier,  he  said,  "  We  have  no 
frontier  now.  We  are  formed  into  the  kingdom  of 
Italy.  We  are  a  country ;  and  we  shall  be  a  country, 
not  hacked  up,  and  tied  tightly  in  little  j^arcels,  so  as  to 
be  handed  about  among  princelings,  as  may  be  most 
convenient.  All  that  has  had  its  day.  The  national 
impulse  has  been  given  to  the  twenty-five  millions  of 
Italy,  and  it  is  going  forward  as  an  avalanche  goes, 
when  the  hand  of  spring  has  touched  it  upon  the  mount- 
ains. It  is  moving,  and  all  the  princes  and  diplomatists 
in  the  world  may  be  alarmed,  or  jealous,  or  angry,  but 
it  is  not  to  be  arrested.  Frontier!"  he  said;  "there 
used  to  be  a  frontier  here,  between  us  and  that  miser- 
able Duke  of  Modena ;  and  then  a  frontier  to  Parma, 
and  then  a  frontier  to  Piedmont,  and  then  a  frontier  to 
Tiisr-nnv.  ;ni(l  llion  n  frontier  to  Mnssn.     But.  that's  all 


PIACENZA,  PAEMA,  AND    MODENA.  145 

over,  thank  God."  Clapping  his  hand  upon  his  pocket, 
where,  I  suppose,  the  passports  used  to  lie,  he  said, 
"  Signore,  I  leave  Bologna  now  and  come  back,  travel- 
ing without  a  passport,  like  an  Englishman  at  home." 

A  few  years  ago,  the  authorities  on  this  frontier  were 
much  occupied  about  a  gentleman  traveling  Avith  an 
English  passport  as  Colonel  Crawford,  but  this  was  not 
his  name.  He  had  just  escaped  from  a  French  state 
prison.  He  had  been  in  the  Pope's  dominions  before, 
and  the  idea  had  got  abroad  that  he  was  about  to  ap- 
pear there  again,  with  j)olitical  designs.  Instructions 
were  given  that  he  should  be  "arrested,  and  closely- 
confined  ;"  and  all  manner  of  vigilance  was  maintained ; 
still  he  was  not  secured,  and  the  authorities  grew  im- 
patient about  the  arrest  of  this  "wight."*  On  a  certain 
day  the  higher  power  from  Bologna  writes  to  an  inferior 
at  Poretta,  and  tells  him,  "  It  has  come  to  our  knowl- 
edge, that  on  the  night  of  the  21st  instant  (June,  1846), 
a  young  stranger,  laden  with  arms  and  money,  who  took 
up  his  lodgings  at  the  hotel  of  Luigi  Ferrari,  although 
using  a  feigned  name,  was  recognized  by  an  English 
lady  as  the  son  of  Jerome  Bonaparte."  He  goes  on  to 
say  how  the  stranger  sent  a  letter  into  Bologna  to  the 
Count  Camerata,  son  of  the  Princess  Baciocchi  (a  mem- 
ber of  the  Bonaparte  family),  who  was  driven  to  Poretta 
by  Battista  Golinelli,  and  arrived  at  eleven  o'clock  A.M. 
on  the  22d.  The  stranger  met  the  count  at  a  mile  from 
his  hotel.  The  count  got  out  of  the  carriage,  and  they 
*  The  word  is  soggetto. 

G 


U6  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

walked  back  together.  The  count  aj^pUed  for  a  pass- 
port to  Monte  Catini,  which  was  refused ;  but  as  the 
stranger  had  several  passports,  they  set  off  toward  Tus- 
cany, accompanied  by  Luigi  Ferrari,  to  the  frontier,  and 
having  a  Tuscan  subject  as  guide.  And  then  a  severe 
rebuke  is  administered  to  the  subordinate  official  for 
his  remissness,  because  the  report  was  current  that  the 
stranger  was  Louis  Napoleon  BonajDarte,  lately  escaped 
from  the  chateau  of  Ham,  the  "  wight"  of  whom  the 
government  was  in  search. 

A  second  letter  tells  this  official  that  it  is  pleasing  to 
find  that  he  had  sufficient  evidence  that  the  stranger 
was  not  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  of  whom  the  police 
were  in  search,  but  his  cousin,  the  son  of  Jerome. 
However,  as  the  report  had  got  abroad,  much  harm 
had  been  done ;  and,  therefore,  the  censure  for  not  hav- 
ing given  information  is  repeated. 

From  Poretta  the  authority  had  written  in  great 
anxiety,  on  the  very  day  of  the  alleged  arrival,  to  say 
that,  at  his  part  of  the  frontier,  the  suspected  "  wight" 
might  easily  pass ;  for  no  one  knew  him,  and  they  had 
no  account  of  his  personal  appearance.  In  fact  all  that 
they  could  ascertain  respecting  him  was,  that  he  was 
about  forty  years  of  age ;  that  is,  if  the  almanacs  were 
correct.  He  begs,  therefore,  at  once,  that  means  of 
recognizing  his  person  may  be  forwarded.  The  reply 
is  to  the  effect  that  they  do  not  possess  any  means  of 
giving  a  personal  descrij^tion  of  him,  and  therefore  all 
vigilance  must  be  used ;  but  that  the  absence  of  a  de- 


PIACENZA,  PAEMA,  AND   MODENA.  147 

scription  is  less  material,  as  it  often  proves  that  persons 
who   are   descrit)ed  as  having  a  beard  turn  up  well 
shaved,  and  vice  versaJ^ 
This  is  a  chapter  in  a  remarkable  biography.f 

*  However,  the  following  shows  that  the  defect  in  information 
did  not  always  last. 

''ActsN.  59,  f.  P.  N. 
"  Personal  marks  of  Prince  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte  : 

Age,  thirty-eight  years. 

Height,  a  metre  and  sixty-six  centimetres. 

Hair,  chestnut. 

Eyebrows,  ditto. 

Forehead,  middling. 

Eyes,  gray  and  little. 

Nose,  big. 

Mouth,  middling. 

Lips,  thick. 

Beard,  brown. 

Mustaches,  fair. 

Chin,  pointed. 

Visage,  oval. 

Complexion,  pale. 

Special  features.— Head  stuck  down  between  the  shoulders ; 
shoulders,  broad;  back,  round  ;  some  gray  hairs." — "Documents," 
part  i.,  p.  55-63. 

t  These  documents  are  found  in  a  work  of  the  Cavaliere  Gennarelli, 
the  official  editor  of  the  Government  Documents,  issued  since  then, 
and  entitled,  /  Lutti  dello  Stato  Romano,  e  VAvvmire  della  Corte  di 
Roma.  The  documents  quoted  are  given  at  full  length  in  the  Ap- 
pendix C,  but  those  upon  the  case  are  more  numerous. 


C^jutftn  niti, 

BOLOGM  DURING  THE  GENERAL  ELECTIONS, 


For  a  city  of  such  historical  name,  both  ancient  and 
modern,  Bologna  does  not  impress  the  stranger  as  oth- 
er Italian  cities  do.  Like  all  the  places  that  have  been 
mider  the  papal  government,  it  looks  as  if  it  had  for 
some  centmies  been  waiting  for  better  times — things  as 
they  might  have  been  some  three  hundred  years  ago, 
when  it  fell  under  the  rule  of  the  Popes.  Most  of  the 
streets  have  low  mediaeval  porticoes,  of  which  an  idea 
may  be  got  in  our  city  of  Chester,  where  only  enough 
remain  to  be  a  picturesque  memorial  of  things  that  are 
past.  In  Bologna  they  have  the  effect  of  giving  a 
stereotyped  cast  to  the  whole  place. 

The  people  are  tall,  darker  than  any  to  the  north,  ex- 
cept those  on  the  flat  plains  of  Lombardy,  and,  for  the 
most  part,  less  cleanly  and  carefully  dressed.  The  men 
generally  wear  those  great  cloaks,  of  which  a  familiar 
name  is  "  wrap-rascal,"  and  which  have  too  often  served 
the  purpose  of  concealing  a  dagger.  From  the  outra- 
geous proportions  of  crinoline,  I  thought  that  it  must 
have  been  forbidden  by  the  papal  government,  and  that 
the  women,  now  that  they  had  freedom,  were  taking 
revenge ;  but  at  Rome  I  found  that,  whatever  might  be 


152  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

under  repression,  hoops  were  free.  Judging  from  En- 
glish analogies,  one  would  expect  that  the  first  general 
election  after  a  great  revolution  would  be  attended 
with  commotion,  if  not  with  tumult.  This,  however,  I 
had  learned  not  to  expect.  Whatever  our  other  poUt- 
ical  institutions  may  be,  it  appears  certain  that,  in  mak- 
ing elections  instruments  of  vice,  no  people  has  yet 
come  near  to  us.  I  have  been  in  Paris  when  every 
man  there,  without  exception,  was  voting  under  the 
double  heat  of  French  temperament  and  revolutionary 
passions,  and  yet  the  whole  passed  off  in  as  business- 
like a  way  as  the  drawing  of  dividends  at  the  Bank  of 
England.  So  in  America  ;  though  there  was  plenty  of 
discussion  before,  and  of  shouting,  and  firing,  and  tar- 
barrels  after  the  election,  the  jjrocess  itself  was  re- 
spectable. And  here  among  these  Koiiiagnoles,  noted 
for  their  boiling  blood  and  swift-striking  hands,  an  En- 
glishman might  have  been  in  the  town,  and  no  more 
have  imagined  that  it  was  the  day  of  the  general  elec- 
tion than  that  it  was  Christmas-day  in  England.  Every 
thing  was  conducted  with  the  most  perfect  decorum, 
not  even  a  sign  of  the  public  tranquillity  being  disturb- 
ed. For  such  men  as  Count  Pepoli,  and  Minghetti,  and 
others,  who  were  at  the  head  of  the  public  movement, 
this  must  have  been  gratifying  in  the  liighest  degree ; 
and  the  former,  who  knows  England  thoroughly,  must 
derive  some  pleasure  from  thinking  that  English  people 
must  feel  how  much  better  order  was  observed  at  this 
now  nnd  first  election,  than  is  often  to  be  found  in  our 


BOLOGNA.  153 

own  country  with  all  our  advantages.  To  me  the 
greatest  marvel  of  order  I  had  witnessed  any  where  was 
in  Bologna,  because  here  the  people,  having  been  under 
the  rule  of  priests,  all  spoke  of  them  with  an  intensity 
of  hatred  such  as  one  did  not  meet  with  either  in  Pied- 
mont or  Lombardy.  There  the  feeling  against  them 
Avas  strong  enough,  but  it  was  that  of  men  who  were 
able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Here,  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  that  of  men  who  had  suffered  in  their  tenderest 
feelings,  perhaps  in  all  their  interests,  and  who  felt  so 
bitterly  that  one  would  have  thought  it  must  lead  to 
deeds  of  violence.  I  could  not,  however,  hear  of  any 
injury  having  been  done  to  a  priest  from  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolution.  In  one  case,  in  a  day  of  great  pop- 
ular commotion,  when  the  people  were  streaming  in 
one  direction,  two  priests  were  seen  breaking  the  crowd, 
and  pushing  their  way  in  an  opposite  one ;  and  all  who 
know  a  great  multitude  know  that  it  is  not  a  very  safe 
thing  to  set  one's  self  against  the  stream.  Count  Pe- 
poli  himself  took  the  trouble  of  going  to  these  two  im- 
prudent men,  and  said  to  them,  "  Gentlemen,  perhaps 
you  may  know  me ;  I  take  the  liberty  of  advising  you 
not  to  go  against  the  crowd  as  you  are  now  doing.  It 
is  possible  you  may  meet  with  insults."  They  told 
him,  however,  that  they  w^ere  not  afraid  of  the  conse- 
quences, and  pushed  on,  and,  to  the  pride  and  pleas- 
ure of  the  good  citizens,  did  not  receive  one-  uncivil 
word. 

Facts  like  these  show  the  difference  between  a  revo- 
G2 


154  ITALY   IN  TKANSITIOX. 

lution  led  by  the  natural  heads  of  a  people,  and  one  in 
which  they  side  with  oppression,  and  leave  the  j)ow- 
er  in  the  hands  of  demagogues.  Had  they,  instead 
of  such  men  as  the  Pepolis,  been  at  the  head  of  this 
Romagnole  rising,  scenes  would  have  been  enacted  over 
which  human  nature  might  blush  for  centuries  to  come. 
They  who  most  inveigh  against  the  noble  men  and  phi- 
losophers who  have  placed  themselves  at  the  head  of 
the  national  movement  are  the  very  persons  who  owe 
to  them  every  drop  of  blood  in  their  veins,  and  every 
atom  of  goods  that  their  families  can  call  their  o-wn. 

At  Bologna  we  witnessed  again  the  arrival  of  Pied- 
montese  cavalry.  How  far  the  people  went  out  to 
meet  them!  How  densely  they  crowded  around  the 
gate !  How  they  lined  the  highway  on  each  side,  and 
waited  and  chatted  pleasantly!  How  they  covered 
their  windows  with  banners,  and  prepared  the  rich 
flowers  of  the  countr}^  to  fling  in  fragrant  welcome  to 
soldiers  of  their  own  blood !  And  when,  at  last,  the 
waving  of  the  first  lances  was  seen,  with  what  emotion 
the  words,  "  They  come !  they  come !"  went  through 
the  crowd.  And  they  did  come,  dusty  but  cheeiful, 
thoroughly  equipped  for  service,  on  little  hardy  horses, 
and  led  by  gallant-looking  men.  All  through  the  crowd 
the  welcome  given  to  them  was  one  of  boiling  enthusi- 
asm. They  had  often  seen  soldiers  in  those  streets, 
but  these  were  not  oppressors,  but  defenders,  not  a  for- 
eign army  of  occupation,  nor  a  papal  army  of  oppres- 
sion.    For  the  first  time  in  their  life  they  could  say, 


BOLOGNA.  155 

"  Our  own  soldiers,"  "  Our  own  cavalry,"  "  Our  own 
officers,"  "  Our  own  uniform." 

In  Bologna,  intense  as  was  the  feeling  against  the 
priests,  the  churches  seemed  well  attended.  At  one,  a 
splendid  military  festival  was  celebrated.  The  Nation- 
al Guards,  with  arms,  and  uniform,  and  bands  of  music, 
and  flags,  made  an  imposing  show,  and  the  whole  mat- 
ter went  off  with  great  eclat. 

At  the  great  church  of  St.  Petronius  was  the  largest 
congregation  I  ever  saw  to  hear  a  sermon  in  a  Romish 
church.  Over  the  pulpit  was  spread  an  awning  of  can- 
vas to  assist  the  voice,  and  below  that  a  heavy  sound- 
ing-board. The  preacher  was  a  dark  Capuchin,  who 
had  already,  during  Lent,  excited  much  attention.  In 
the  very  heavy  shade  created  by  awning  and  sounding- 
board,  nothing  could  be  seen  but  the  yellowish  oval 
of  his  face,  above  the  thick  black  beard  which  hung 
down  undistinguished  in  the  general  gloom.  The  only 
other  point  visible,  besides  this  oval,  was  the  white 
cord  round  his  waist,  and  the  yellow  hands  when  they 
moved.  In  darkness  that  little  oval  was  set,  and  out 
of  darkness  came  the  deep,  rich,  pliant  voice,  and  against 
a  background  of  darkness  the  white  waist-cord  lay,  and 
the  hands  were  waved.  It  was  the  very  thing  for 
Rembrandt  to  have  painted ;  and  some  of  his  disciples 
ought  to  have  been  there. 

He  addressed  the  people  by  the  style  of  "  Signori^'' 
("Gentlemen"),  as  I  had  formerly  heard  done  at  Milan; 
but  with  this  friar  the  term  "  Gentlemen"  came  as  oft- 


156  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

en  as  "  Beloved"  does  with  some  preachers  at  home. 
He  pom-ed  out  a  torrent  of  rich  sound,  modulated  with 
the  greatest  skill,  and  adorned  by  a  manly  bearing, 
and,  in  the  main,  dignified  gesture.  He  was  a  speaker 
of  very  uncommon  power.  The  Church  of  Rome  does 
not  descend  to  the  reading  of  sermons.  If  men  can 
preach,  they  are  employed  to  do  so ;  if  not,  they  let 
it  alone.  This  man  could  preach,  and  that  with  a 
witness. 

His  subject  was  "  The  glory  of  the  Priesthood ;"  and 
the  proposition  he  laid  down  was  this:  "The  defama- 
tions uttered  by  the  laity  against  the  priesthood  are  an 
impudent  injustice."  He  began  by  saying  that  he  did 
not  wonder  at  heretics,  and  Turks,  and  atheists  malign- 
ing the  priests,  but  the  shocking  thing  was  that  it 
should  be  done  by  Catholics.  In  all  ages  and  nations 
the  priest  had  been  held  in  sacred  regard.  Among  the 
Jews,  among  the  old  Egyptians — of  whose  ideas  the 
hieroglyphics  had  given  us  back  some  notion — among 
the  Persians,  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  priest 
was  ever  a  public  power  to  whom  men  looked  in  all 
the  junctures  that  involved  the  crises  of  life:  the  Brah- 
min in  India,  the  Mandarin  in  China,  and  the  Llama  in 
Tartary,  was  often  treated  as  a  kind  of  god.  So,  from 
the  foundation  of  the  Christian  priesthood  in  all  coun- 
tries, it  had  been  held  in  lofty  honor.  But  of  late  it 
had  become  the  fashion  to  malign  it.  They  were  rep- 
resented as  the  enemies  of  good,  the  patrons  of  all  evil, 
obstacles  to  human  progress,  dangerous  to  liberties  and 


BOLOGNA.  157 

repose,  and  even  injurious  to  animal  life.  He  undertook 
to  show  that  all  this  was  flagrantly  unjust.  Then  he 
sat  down  for  a  moment,  gave  the  people  time  to  breathe, 
and  rose  and  began. 

"  Do  you  know  what  is  the  dignity  of  a  priest  of  the 
Rorjan  Catholic  Church?  It  is  the  highest  dignity 
ur.der  heaven  !  Kings  are  to  be  honored ;  magistrates 
,'ire  to  have  their  respect  too ;  scholars,  discoverers,  and 
poets,  all  merit  honor;  but  upon  this  earth  there  is  no 
dignity  that  for  one  moment  can  compare  itself  witli 
that  of  the  Roman  priest.  Do  you  know  who  a  priest 
is?  He  is  no  less  than  a  person  who  continues  here 
upon  earth  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God !  a  person 
w^ho  daily  renews  the  great  act  of  the  economy  of  Re- 
demption !  a  person  who  holds  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
of  God,  and  opens  or  shuts !  a  person  who,  with  a  few 
Divine  words,  changes  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine 
into  the  body,  blood,  soul,  and  Divinity  of  Christ!  a 
person  who  stands  between  you  and  God,  hearkening 
to  the  confession  of  your  sins,  and  pronouncing  over 
you  the  absolution  given  by  the  Almighty!  a  person 
who,  in  infancy,  makes  you  members  of  Christ ;  who, 
in  youth,  formally  inducts  you  by  the  Holy  Sacrament 
into  the  communion  of  saints;  who,  when  you  are 
young  and  full  of  life,  consecrates  your  union  with  the 
wife  of  your  choice ;  who,  in  the  day  of  bereavement, 
brings  the  consolations  of  heaven  to  the  dark  chambers 
of  your  friends ;  and  who,  when  your  own  day  of  death 
comes,  bids  your  soul  depart  in  peace !"    All  good,  all 


158  1T^\XY   IX  TEAi^^SITION. 

comfort,  all  true  science,  all  the  lights  really  valuable  to 
men,  had  come  through  the  priest.  In  the  early  age 
the  Church  had  its  Chrysostoms,  its  Augustines,  its 
Cyrils,  and  a  long  list,  which  he  repeated  with  the  ut- 
most rapidity,  and  wonderfully  sonorous  effect.  Xow, 
in  our  modern  day,  it  had  its  equally  illustrious  roll  of 
names,  which  again  he  jDOured  out  with  the  same  fluen- 
cy and  force.  But  what  was  my  astonishment,  in  the 
midst  of  these  names,  to  hear  those  of  Lamennais  and 
Gioberti.  The  priests  had  been  the  patrons  of  the 
arts :  here  another  list  of  artistes  whom  they  had  made, 
from  Michael  Angelo  to  Canova.  They  had  been  the 
fathers  of  knowledge :  here  a  long  citation  of  learned 
and  scientific  priests.  They  had  been  the  founders  of 
all  charitable  institutions :  and  here  was  really  the  most 
eloquent  part  of  his  sermon,  but  one  impossible  to  re- 
port from  memory.  Selecting  every  great  work  in  the 
history  of  the  Church  which  had  been  done  by  an  in- 
dividual, characterizing  it  in  a  word,  he  concluded  each 
sentence  with,  "This  is  the  benefit  of  a  priesthood!" 
"Yes,  the  priests  were  the  guides  of  life,  the  lights  of 
the  world ;  they  were  the  salt  of  the  earth,  they  were 
the  staff  of  society,  they  were  the  shield  of  the  people, 
they  were  the  glory  of  the  past,  they  were  the  hope  of 
the  future."  Again  he  sat  down,  and  gave  the  people 
the  benefit  of  a  long  respite.  Rising  up,  he  exclaimed, 
"But  there  are  bad  priests!  True:  there  are  bad 
priests,  many  of  them;  but  what  does  that  prove? 
There  are  bad  Christians ;  but  that  does  not  prove  that 


BOLOGNA.  159 

Christianity  itself  is  bad."  And  so  he  went  on ;  but 
this  part  of  his  oration  was  certainly  the  least  effective. 
Still  it  was  a  grand  declamation ;  real  eloquence  was 
joined  with  earnestness  and  courage;  and,  so  far  as 
one  could  judge,  the  whole  was  sustained  by  perfect 
honesty.  The  man  seemed  to  mean  every  word  he 
said,  and  to  look  upon  the  priesthood,  of  which  he  was 
the  organ,  as  the  one  institution  upon  which  the  tem- 
poral and  eternal  happiness  of  mankind  depended.  The 
effrontery  appeared  to  cost  him  little  effort,  and  of  the 
blasphemy  into  which  his  grandiose  periods  often  led 
him  he  seemed  unconscious.  The  people  heard  well. 
A  few  looked  as  if  his  reproaches  troubled  them ;  some 
were  evidently  angry ;  but  the  most  part  seemed  just 
to  say,  "He  does  it  very  cleverly."  Opposite  him  sat 
the  Chapter  of  the  Cathedral,  a  numerous  body  in  rich 
robes — some  of  them  fine-looking  men,  but  others  of 
dark  and  dangerous  countenances.  His  enthusiasm 
did  not  appear  to  carry  them  along.  They  seemed 
more  uneasy  than  elated,  ^nd  as  they  retired  there  was 
more  of  anxiety  than  of  any  other  feeling  upon  their 
countenances. 

Oh !  how  one  would  have  liked  to  stand  up  then  and 
preach,  giving  this  honest  man  and  his  theme  credit  for 
every  good  man  and  good  action  he  could  justly  cite ; 
then,  sweeping  his  false  facts  and  false  history  to  the 
winds,  preach  to  that  throng  the  one  great  High  Priest, 
the  one  sacrifice  for  sin,  the  one  Mediator  between  God 
and  man,  and  tell  them  of  the  true,  meek,  and  benign 


160  ITALY   IN   TKANSITION. 

mission  of  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  upon  the  earth ! 
One  could  not  do  that;  but  one  could  pray  that  He 
who  holds  the  stars  in  His  right  hand — and  the  stars 
are  the  messengers  of  the  Churches — would  call  many 
out  of  darkness  to  shine  on  this  Italy. 

The  singing  of  the  responses  at  one  part  of  this  serv- 
ice was  exceedingly  fine.  The  multitude  joined,  and  it 
was  the  sort  of  music  that  men  can  enjoy.  In  contrast 
w^th  it,  the  singing  in  the  Protestant  French,  Swiss,  and 
Italian  churches  is  very  miserable.  They  seem  to  have 
adopted  as  an  axiom  tliat  a  psahu  or  a  hymn  is  to  be 
only  a  wail.  The  music  is  sweet  and  good,  and,  for 
penitential  psalms,  very  appropriate ;  but  the  praise  of 
God  is  not  all  plaint,  and  the  emotions  of  worship  not 
all  heavy.  Many  of  David's  Psalms  are  like  the  cher- 
ubim ;  they  have  six  wings,  and  are  full  of  eyes.  They 
are  intended  to  mount,  and  course,  and  shine,  and  war- 
ble against  the  very  arches  of  heaven ;  and  yet  these  are 
made  to  sigh,  as  if  the  Protestant  Churches  had  found 
no  music  but  for  the  sorrows  of  the  Psalmist.  Joy,  tri- 
umph, outbursts,  raptures,  flashes  of  fire,  and  peals  of 
hallelujah,  are  the  ideal  of  the  music  which  suits  the 
greater  part  of  David's  psalmody,  and  especially  which 
suits  that  of  a  Christian  multitude,  redeemed  to  God, 
and  marching  on  its  way  to  immortal  happiness.  In  al- 
ternation with  such  music  as  this,  the  penitential  and 
solemn  strains  one  so  often  hears  would  have  great 
pov.'cr  over  the  soul ;  but  where  they  alone  are  heard, 
they  bccomo  inorflv  soft  nnd  lioiivv.     By  persons  frnin- 


BOLOGNA.  161 

ed  in  them  from  infancy  this  is  not  felt ;  but,  for  influ- 
ence upon  the  great  multitude  of  men,  the  defect  can 
hardly  be  overrated.  The  singing  in  the  German  and 
Italian  Romish  churches  comes  as  near  to  my  idea  of 
what  Christian  singing  ought  to  be,  as  to  its  composi- 
tion and  style,  as  any  thing  I  have  heard.  This  remark 
certainly  does  not  apply  to  the  military  music  heard  in 
one  of  the  churches  of  Bologna. 

A  shrewd-looking  man  of  the  middle  class  was  stand- 
ing before  me,  and  followed  the  monk's  sermon  with 
close  attention ;  his  countenance  expressing  wonder  and 
dislike  on  the  whole,  but  sometimes  a  certain  kind  of 
doubt.  As  the  congregation  was  breaking  up,  I  had  a 
few  words  with  him,  but  we  were  separated  in  the 
crowd. 

The  next  morning  I  found,  standing  under  a  portico 
of  one  of  the  streets,  two  Bible  colporteurs  ;  honest,  in- 
telligent men  from  Geneva,  friends  of  Mazzarella,  who 
seemed  to  be  diligently  doing  their  work.  Had  the 
priestly  honors  claimed  by  the  friar  still  been  accorded 
in  Bologna,  the  first  criminals  put  in  prison  that  day 
would  have  been  these  heretic  hawkers  of  the  best 
Book. 

While  I  was  talking  to  them,  the  man  I  had  spoken 
to  in  the  Cathedral  came  up,  plainly  wishing  to  renew 
the  conversation  which  had  only  been  begun  the  day 
before.  "From  what  that  friar  said  yesterday  about 
priests,  one  would  conclude  that  your  countries,  where 
there  have  been  most  of  them,  and  they  have  had  most 


162  ITALY  IX  TRANSITION. 

power,  must  be  full  of  good  Christians,  and  all  happi- 
ness ?"  "  But  it  is  not  so,"  he  said ;  "  it  is  directly  the 
opposite  of  that.  Look  at  this  country ;  while  it  was 
under  the  government  of  the  priests,  the  place  reeked 
with  crimes ;  and  now  Rome  and  !N'aples  are  the  two 
countries  that  abound  in  crime  above  all  in  Europe. 
There  is  none  hke  them." 

I  said  that  this  was  quite  true ;  and  that,  besides,  he 
would  find  that  the  countries  where  once  the  Roman 
priest,  so  much  lauded  yesterday,  had  possessed  all  the 
power,  but  where  now,  instead  of  his  word,  the  light  of 
that  Book  which  these  men  were  selHug  had  been  sub- 
stituted, the  returns  of  criminal  courts  showed  that 
there  vras  no  comparison  between  them  and  the  coun- 
tries where  the  priests  still  reigned.  Even  where  a 
country  was  divided  into  two  parts,  as,  for  instance,  Ire- 
land, Switzerland,  Germany,  there  was  a  conspicuous 
difference  in  the  amount  of  crime,  in  the  comfort  and 
intelligence  of  the  people,  between  those  provmces  that 
were  or  were  not  under  priestly  influence ;  a  difference 
that  might  be  traced  even  by  the  eye  of  a  traveler  in 
passing  from  one  to  the  other.  "  Then,"  I  said,  "  take 
the  period  at  which  the  Reformed  nations  broke  off 
from  the  spiritual  dominion  of  Rome  :  what  were  then 
the  great  powers  ?  Spain,  Portugal,  Austria,  France, 
the  Italian  Republics,  retained  much  strengtli.  But 
Prussia  was  unknown,  Russia  unheard  of,  England  an 
inconsiderable  nation,  Holland  the  subject  province  of 
Spniii,  nnd  tlio  other  Protestant  nations  out  of  account. 


BOLOGNA.  163 

What  had  been  the  course  of  events  since  ?  Gradually, 
all  the  nations  that  had  remained  under  the  spiritual 
leading  of  Rome  had  either  become  feeble  by  internal 
degeneration,  as  Spain  and  Portugal,  or  odious  external- 
ly, as  Austria,  or  tormented  with  incessant  revolutions, 
as  France.  They  were  all  periodically  the  theatre  of 
civil  wars ;  whereas,  the  powers  free  from  the  spiritual 
domination  of  Rome  had  steadily  risen,  and  were  going 
on  with  every  promise  of  increased  strength.  In  the 
New  World  it  was  just  the  same  as  in  the  Old ;  even 
where,  in  free  republics,  with  virgin  continents,  and 
more  land  than  could  be  occupied,  men  had  every  ad- 
vantage. What  was  the  disastrous  condition  of  Mexico 
and  other  states,  in  which  the  priests  had  great  power, 
as  compared  with  that  of  the  North  American  Union 
and  the  Canadas  ?  Where  did  we  trace  the  disorder 
and  internecine  wars  which  marked  a  moral  blight,  and 
the  prosperity  and  order  which  betokened  the  protec- 
tion of  God?" 

The  exclamations  of  pleasure  and  curiosity  with  which 
he  interrupted  and  hailed  these  observations  led  me  to 
go  on  farther.  "  And  suppose  you  take  only  the  last 
century,  that  page  of  history  which  lies  within  the 
knowledge  of  all — what  has  been  the  course  of  things 
during  it  ?  At  the  beginning  of  it,  Spain  and  Portugal 
still  retained  their  colonial  empires,  and  much  of  their 
splendor ;  France  had  great  possessions  in  the  East  and 
West  Indies;  Prussia  had  but  newly  become  a  king- 
dom; England  was  little  more  than  the  British  Isles, 


164  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

with  just  a  few  colonies  in  America;  the  United  States 
were  not  in  existence.  Now,  within  that  time,  Spain 
and  Portugal  have  lost  all  their  foreign  possessions,  ex- 
cept some  fragments,  declined  in  population,  fallen  to 
nothing  in  moral  influence,  and  become  the  frequent 
theatres  of  civil  conflict.  France  has  passed  through 
frightful  carnage,  committed  by  neighbor  upon  neigh- 
bor, and  lost  all  her  foreign  possessions  except  Alge- 
ria, which  she  has  taken  in  compensation.  Austria  has 
been  conquered,  and  conquered  again,  and  gone  through 
rebeUions  and  disruptions,  which  are  wearing  her  down. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  non-papal  powers  have  been 
steadily  developing,  and  that  very  strongly.  Russia 
has  grown  to  gigantic  proportions ;  Prussia  has  become 
one  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe ;  England  has  added 
nearly  as  many  subjects  as  all  the  kings  of  Europe  have 
upon  the  Continent ;  and  the  United  States  of  America 
have  come  into  existence,  and  reached  their  present 
eminence  and  power." 

The  man  held  his  head  on  one  side  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, thinking,  and  then  shook  it,  as  if  to  put  the  facts 
into  their  right  places ;  lifting  it  up  again,  he  said,  "  No 
wonder,  no  wonder  !  No ;  where  Rome  has  its  band 
and  its  priests,  all  national  interests,  and  all  the  order 
of  society  must  be  subordinate  to  the  ruling  idea — the 
ascendency  of  the  priest  over  the  public  mind ;  and  the 
foundations  of  manhood  are  constantly  being  sapped  by 
a  band  that  has  no  sympathy  with  national  views." 

*'  But  you  do  not  say  that  of  all  the  priests  ?" 


BOLOGNA.  165 

"No,"  he  said,  "not  of  all,  certainly.  There  are  good 
ones  among  them,  as  every  where ;  but  I  speak  of  the 
general  influence  and  drift  of  the  priesthood.  There 
must  be  feebleness  and  revolutionary  elements  where 
things  are  conducted  as  they  conduct  them." 

"  Speaking  of  revolutions  again,"  I  said,  "  you  find 
that  all  the  modern  revolutions  have  their  centre  and 
chief  2:>rovocation  in  the  countries  that  lie  under  the 
priests.  Take  1848,  for  example :  what  were  the  thrones 
that  fell,  and  the  crowns  that  had  to  be  abdicated  ?  In 
France  the  king  chased  away;  in  Austria  the  crown 
abdicated ;  in  Bavaria  the  crown  abdicated ;  in  Sardinia 
the  crown  abdicated ;  in  Rome  the  prince  chased  away, 
and  obliged  to  employ  four  armies  to  force  him  back 
again  upon  his  people :  but  all  this  time  the  sovereigns 
of  the  non-papal  world  held  their  own ;  and,  much  as 
some  of  the  states  were  disturbed,  things  did  not  come 
to  the  point  of  revolution." 

"  Oh,  it  is  true,"  he  cried,  "  it  is  true ;  and  no  won- 
der that  it  is  true !  If  you  only  knew  the  thousandth 
part  of  what  we  know  in  this  city,  you  would  have  the 
key  to  it  all.  I  never  heard  so  much  said  about  it  m 
the  general^  but  we  know  it  well  in  the  afiairs  of  every- 
day life.     But  what  did  you  think  of  the  friar  ?" 

"  I  thought  he  was  very  eloquent,  and  made  the  best 
of  his  cause  ;  and  he  seemed  to  me  a  bold,  honest  man." 

It  is  really  painful  to  watch  the  expression  of  counte- 
nance with  which  an  Italian  often  receives  one's  decla- 
ration of  belief  in  the  honesty  or  goodness  of  a  priest. 


166  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

It  betrays  such  a  want  of  faith  in  any  honesty  as  must 
be  in  itself  a  terrible  moral  void  in  the  character.  How- 
ever, j^assing  on  from  this,  which  he  evidently  consider- 
ed my  weakness,  I  said,  "  You  heard  wonderful  praise 
of  the  priests :  did  it  strike  you,  while  you  were  listen- 
ing to  him,  that,  in  the  New  Testament,  this  book  which 
these  men  are  trying  to  spread,  neither  our  Lord  nor 
His  apostles  ever  called  any  minister  of  the  Gospel  a 
'priest?'"* 

"  Xo,"  he  cried ;  "  surely  that  can't  be  !" 

"There  is  the  book.  If  you  take  it,  and  read  it 
through,  you  will  find  that  no  one  of  the  twelve  apos- 
tles was  ever  called  a  '  priest ;'  that  none  of  their  fel- 
low-laborers or  their  disciples — none  of  those  whom 
they  ordained,  or  sent  out  to  preach  in  the  world,  were 
called  '  priests." ' 

"  But  is  it  possible  ?"  he  said.  "  Who,  then,  were 
called  priests  ?" 

"  The  Jewish  priests  were  so  called,  but  the  Christian 
ministers  never.  They  had  no  sacrifice  to  ofier  up; 
they  had  only  to  act  as  heralds,  proclaiming  to  the  world 
that  one  sacrifice  for  all  sin  had  been  oflfered  up  by  that 
one  Priest  of  the  human  race,  the  Son  of  God,  who  had 
gone  up  to  heaven  to  intercede  for  us  there  day  and 
night,  our  perpetual  High-Priest  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Almighty,  to  whom  every  poor  man  upon  earth 
had  access,  if  he  but  lifted  up  a  trusting  and  a  sincere 
heart." 

*  The  Italian  word  is  *'  sacer'dote.'^ 


BOLOGXA.  167 

"  Oh,"  he  said,  "  is  it  possible  ?  And  there  is  no  talk 
of  priests  in  the  New  Testament  ?" 

"Much  talk  of  Jewish  priests,  but  of  Christian  priests 
none.  There  is  talk  of  the  minister,  the  pastor,  and 
teacher."  In  dwelling  on  his  work  and  office  as  contra- 
distinguished from  that  of  the  priest,  I  was  now  and 
then  helped  out  by  a  very  intelligent  and  earnest  ob- 
servation from  the  colporteurs.  By  this  time  some  peo- 
ple had  joined  us,  and  all  took  an  interest  in  the  conver- 
sation; and  some  one  said,  "In  England  it  is  not  as  it 
is  here.  There  are  not  assassins,  and  robbers,  and  all 
the  villainy  that  we  have  going  on." 

"  Don't  say  so,"  I  said.  "  In  England  we  have  crim- 
inals enough — far  too  many ;  and  we  have  much  reason 
to  be  ashamed.  Yet  it  is  ground  for  thankfulness  that, 
when  we  compare  the  total  amount  of  English  crime 
with  that  returned  in  Naples  and  the  States  of  the 
Church,  or  Spain,  or  Portugal,  or  even  France,  offenses 
against  human  life  are  few  in  comparison.  But  take 
care  that  you  don't  look  to  England  for  a  model — for 
it  is  not  there — or  to  America,  or  to  any  other  country. 
You  will  find  no  true  model  upon  earth.  The  model 
for  the  Christian  is  there,  in  that  Book.  It  is  yonder, 
in  that  heaven,  where  Jesus  Christ  reigns,  and  w^hence 
He  Avill  come  to  judge  us  all." 

The  amount  of  desire  to  hear  what  a  foreigner  had 
to  say  on  such  subjects  must  be  strong  when  a  man  will 
stand  while  one  slowly  grinds  out  such  observations  in 
bad  Italian.     Any  man  who  knows  what  it  is  to  hear  a 


168  ITALY    IN   TKAIfSlTIOX. 

foreigner  attempt  to  argue  in  slow  and  broken  language 
will  form  some  idea  of  this. 

The  state  of  feeling  with  regard  to  the  government 
of  the  priests  indicated  in  the  above  conversation  seem- 
ed to  be  universal  with  all  among  whom  I  spoke  in 
Bologna. 

*'  Was  the  papal  government  really  as  bad  as  they 
said  ?"  I  asked  of  a  professional  man. 

"As  bad  as  they  said?  They  could  never  say  half 
how  bad  it  was.  In  spite  of  its  permanent  effects  upon 
the  people,  the  change  since  its  fall  is  wonderful.  The 
place  was  a  den  of  assassins ;  now  few  homicides  occur. 
The  police  were  in  league  with  the  robbers,  and  the 
priests  with  the  police.  When  a  great  robbery  was 
committed,  the  culprits,  even  if  imprisoned,  were  always 
discharged.  They  got  a  share,  and  the  authorities  a 
share.  As  to  assassination,  any  man  who  had  commit- 
ted one,  if  he  had  only  money,  could  at  once  make 
friends  with  the  priests,  and  the  evidence  broke  down, 
and  he  was  set  at  large.  But  an  honest  man  who  dared 
to  think  was  punished  without  mercy ;  or  a  j^oor  man 
who  happened  to  get  into  prison,  and  had  no  money  or 
friends  to  carry  the  priests'  influence  for  him,  might  lie 
there  and  rot  before  they  even  took  the  trouble  to 
bring  him  to  trial." 

At  the  hotel  I  said  to  the  waiter,  "You  appear  to 
have  many  priests  in  Bologna."  "  Oh,  plenty."  "  All 
married  ?"  He  looked  at  me  with  surprise ;  but  I  seem- 
ed quite  innocent.     "No,  not  one  of  them  married." 


BOLOGli^A.  169 

"  What,  none  at  all  ?"  "  No,  on  the  contrary."  "  Why, 
how's  that  ?  We  find  in  the  Gospel  that  St.  Peter  was 
married." 

"Perhaps  he  was;  I  can't  say  for  that ;  but  in  Bologna 
the  priests  do  not  marry,  and  I  assure  you  that  all  over 
the  papal  states,  wherever  I  have  been — and  I  have 
been  in  several  places — they  don't  marry — that  is,  they 
don't  have  wives  openly — occiiltamenteP 

Considering  how  notorious  Bologna  had  been  for 
crime,  how  constant  the  excitement  of  its  people  against 
the  papal  government  and  the  Austrians,  and  how  ar- 
dent the  national  temperament,  one  could  not  but  look 
upon  the  perfect  order  prevailing  in  the  present  revolu- 
tionary time  as  one  of  the  greatest  marvels  of  modern 
society.  Once  or  twice  there  had  been  danger  of 
trouble.  When  Garibaldi,  for  instance,  was  recalled, 
the  people  were  greatly  excited ;  but  throughout  an  en- 
tire night  the  utmost  vigilance  was  exercised  by  the 
military  and  the  authorities.  The  first  men  of  the  town 
might  be  found  in  the  streets,  going  about  talking  to 
the  people  in  their  own  dialect  till  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  On  another  occasion  some  of  the  lowest 
class,  much  like  the  Lazaroni  of  N'aples,  had  shown 
signs  of  restlessness,  about  which  the  opinion  seemed 
to  be  that  it  was  stimulated  by  money  and  other  incite- 
ments from  the  priests,  under  pretense  of  Mazzinian 
aims ;  but  this  also  had  been  easily  got  over ;  and  now, 
as  before  stated,  the  elections  were  just  completed  with 
exemplary  quietness. 

H 


170  ITALY  IN  TKANSITION. 

Count  Pepoll,  who  had  taken  a  leading  part  in  j)re- 
serving  order,  was  returned  for  two  places,  one  in  the 
town  and  one  in  the  country ;  and  a  proof  of  the  readi- 
ness of  the  priests  either  to  join  from  patriotic  feeling 
in  the  national  movement,  or  to  worship  the  rising  sun, 
lay  in  this,  that  the  first  announcement  of  his  election 
in  the  distant  place  came  to  him  in  a  congratulatory 
letter  from  a  doctor  of  divinity,  anticipating  all  other 
communications.  But  j^robably  this  priest  was  one  of 
the  many  whose  hearts  long  to  see  their  country  happy, 
and  who  have  not  sufficient  faith  in  Rome  to  believe 
that  it  is  a  blessing  either  to  one  soul  or  to  a  nation. 

Count  M»rliani,  to  whose  courtesy  I  had  been  much 
indebted,  had  also  been  elected,  though  absent  in  Lon- 
don. 

I  had  the  opportunity  of  conversing  upon  religious 
liberty  with  a  gentleman  whose  influence  in  the  move- 
ments of  Central  Italy  had  been  very  great.  As  all 
leading  Italians  do,  he  expressed  entire  respect  for  free- 
dom of  worship;  at  the  same  time  being  disposed  to 
keep  up  the  spiritual  authority  of  Rome,  if  only  the 
temporal  could  be  got  rid  of  This  is  natural  in  men 
who  are  endeavoring  to  combine  their  patriotic  duty 
with  certain  remnants  of  religious  feelings ;  but  they 
will  find  that  they  can  not  pull  down  the  towers  on 
which  the  church  bells  swing,  and  leave  them  to  make 
music  in  mid  air.  The  great  bell  of  St.  Peter's  needs  a 
solid  earthly  buttress. 

In  speaking  of  what  constituted  national  stability,  I 


BOLOGXA.  IVI 

argued  that  three  foundations  were  necessary  to  the  re- 
pose and  equilibrium  of  a  nation — a  political  one,  a  so- 
cial one,  and  a  religious  one. 

The  religious  foundation,  faith. 

The  social  one,  the  family. 

The  political  one,  the  Constitution. 

All  national  institutions  rest  upon  the  family,  and  it 
upon  religion. 

And  "  here  it  appears  to  me  that  France  is  essentially 
deficient.  She  has  not  a  rehgious  foundation,  for  want 
of  faith ;  not  a  social  one,  for  want  of  families ;  not  a 
political  one,  for  want  of  a  Constitution.  Instead  of  all 
these  she  has  substituted  military  organization,  which, 
for  the  time,  is  giving  her  internal  order,  and  a  com- 
manding foreign  influence;  but  will  it  last?  All  our 
institutions  would  lose  their  stability  the  moment  our 
social  foundations  became  loosened.  England  is  the 
land  of  Home ;  France,  of  Glory :  the  one  rests  upon 
the  family,  the  other  upon  the  army ;  and  it  remains  to 
be  seen  which  of  the  two  will,  in  the  long  run,  be  the 
better."  My  interlocutor  replied,  "The  one  is  based 
on  the  principle  of  conservation,  the  other  on  that  of 
destruction.  It  is  easy  to  foresee  which  has  the  greater 
vitahty." 

We  had  several  times  remarked,  in  going  through 
the  streets,  that  the  people  appeared  to  regard  one  of 
the  ladies  of  the  party  with  peculiar  attention,  not  un- 
mixed with  pleasure.  After  a  while  we  began  to  sus- 
pect the  cause,  and  in  Bologna  had  it  confirmed.     On  a 


1*72  ITALY   IN  TEANSITION. 

brown  silk  dress  were  certain  adornments  in  a  tartan 
pattern,  which  in  England  would  have  attracted  no  no- 
tice ;  but  the  colors  w^ere  white,  red,  and  green,  the 
Italian  tri-color ;  so  that  this  innocent  dress  was  nothing 
less  than  a  strong  political  demonstration.  We  were 
not  a  little  amused  when  w^e  discovered  it,  but  after- 
ward saw  many  ladies  who  had  studiously  put  on  the 
three  colors,  and  yet  it  was  not  done  near  so  effectual- 
ly as  it  had  been  in  this  case  by  accident.  In  every 
form  in  which  it  is  possible  to  w^ork  in  these  three 
colors,  you  see  them ;  such  as  a  red  handkerchief,  green 
bonnet,  and  white  feather,  or  vice  versa;  and  as  the 
name  of  Cavour  is  Camillo — and  Italy  abounds  every 
where  with  extremely  beautiful  camellias — one  of  the 
prettiest  forms  of  the  tri-color  is  putting  together  a 
white  and  red  camellia,  surrounded  by  their  own  green 
leaves.  When  we  were  about  to  start  for  Rome,  the 
political  robe  was  prudently  left  behind  at  Florence. 

It  w^ill  be  remembered  that  only  a  few  years  ago  the 
newspapers  reported  the  progress  made  by  the  Pope 
through  his  dominions ;  the  accounts  of  congratulatory 
addresses  and  loyal  receptions  were  aftccting.  In  Bo- 
logna one  heard  such  reports  of  the  papal  government 
that  it  was  hard  to  believe  one's  ears — I  do  not  mean 
hard  to  believe  the  things  that  were  said,  for  that  one 
did  not  think  of;  they  were  incredible — but  hard  to  be- 
lieve that  one  was  hearing  such  things  in  Europe.  The 
worst  deeds  of  Asiatic  misrule  that  one  is  wont  to  hear 
alleged  by  "  Indians"  as  sufficient  grounds  for  sweeping 


BOLOGNA.  173 

rajahs  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  were  -upon  the  lips  of 
every  one,  as  done  here  in  the  heart  of  Christendom. 
Over  and  over  again  one  thought,  and  said,  that  the 
only  value  of  such  representations  was  that  they  showed 
what  the  papal  government  was  considered  capable  of 
by  the  people  who  had  lived  under  it.  Several  times, 
appealing  to  the  personal  virtues  of  the  Pope,  one  asked 
if  he  had  not  been  received  with  enthusiasm  when  he 
came  among  them.  A  man  said,  "  He  Avas  at  first  re- 
ceived with  a  certain  degree  of  cordiality,  because  along 
the  road,  wherever  addresses  of  complaint  were  pre- 
sented to  him,  he  returned  one  answer,  that  when  he 
arrived  at  Bologna  he  would  investigate  matters  and 
make  improvements ;  therefore  the  hopes  of  the  people 
were  high,  and  they  did  receive  him  with  some  warmth. 
But  when  he  had  been  here  a  while  and  nothing  was 
done,  public  feeling  changed,  and  he  left  amid  universal 
contempt."  This  was  the  answer  of  a  working-man. 
That  of  a  professional  man  w^as,  "No,  he  was  not  re- 
ceived well  at  all.  He  was  received  as  became  his  dig- 
nity. The  authorities  had  orders  and  money,  and  got 
up  arches  and  demonstrations.  A  few  of  the  people,  in 
hope  of  reforms,  took  part  in  them ;  but  even  they 
found  themselves  bitterly  disappointed,  for  he  did  noth- 
ing ;  and,  before  he  left  Bologna,  when  he  passed  in  the 
streets,  scarcely  any  one  would  take  the  trouble  to  raise 
his  hat."  Instead  of  repeating  here  statements  as  to 
the  character  of  the  government  which  could  have  no 
other  value  than  to  show  the  feeling  of  the  people,  I  will 


174  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

give,  as  published  in  the  "Documents,"  a  case  which 
occurred  in  a  city  still  under  papal  rule. 

The  Three  Young  Men  of  Fermo. 

One  evening  in  February,  1849,  while  the  Kepublic 
was  still  in  power,  old  Canon  Corsi  fell,  mortally  stab- 
bed, in  the  streets  of  Fermo.  He  was  professor  of  elo- 
quence, mild  in  politics,  a  friend  of  the  young,  kind  and 
charitable;  the  one  priest  in  the  town  universally  re- 
spected. The  public  was  filled  with  horror;  the  Na- 
tional Guard  arose,  and  seized  upon  every  suspicious 
man  in  the  place.  Appearances  were  strongly  against 
two,  who  remained  in  prison.  As  an  example  of  the 
dark  hints  one  hears  breathed  in  the  Roman  States,  it 
was  whispered  about  Fermo  that  this  deed  had  been 
planned  to  produce  a  reaction  in  favor  of  the  priests  by 
striking  the  public  mind  with  horror  at  the  murder  of 
so  good  a  man. 

After  the  jDapal  government  had  been  restored,  lieavy 
blows  were  dealt  to  the  people  of  Fermo.  "  There  was 
not  a  citizen  who,  during  the  Republic,  had  given  the 
least  sign  of  adhesion  even  by  simple  silence,  who  was 
not  annoyed,  or  jilaced  under  surveillance,  or  imprison- 
ed, or  condemned  to  the  galleys  or  to  exile."  But  this 
was  not  enough  for  Cardinal  d'Angelis.  Some  lives 
must  be  taken.  Three  men  were  especially  obnoxious 
to  the  restored  government — Joseph  Casellini,  a  young 
man  of  good  family,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Re- 
publican army ;  Ignatius  Rosettani,  a  tailor ;  and  Henry 


BOLOGNA.  175 

Venezia,  a  coffee-house  man :  all  of  hotly  liberal  politics, 
but  with  names  unstained  by  crime.  These  three  youths 
were  arrested  for  the  murder  of  Canon  Corsi,  as  accom- 
plices of  the  two  criminals  already  in  prison.  Of  those, 
one,  called  Testori,  was  an  old  galley  slave,  whose  life 
had  been  a  tissue  of  crime.  His  cell,  it  was  observed 
by  the  political  prisoners,  who  numbered  no  less  than 
one  hundred  and  thirty-six,  soon  became  the  favorite 
resort  of  the  police.  Presently  he  had  an  extra  plate 
of  victuals  every  day ;  then  his  bed  was  provided  w^ith 
a  mattress,  sheets,  and  counterpane;  and,  finally,  he 
was  allowed  the  indulgence  of  cigars.  He  was  also 
frequently  taken  to  the  police-oifice,  which  w^as  near 
the  prison,  and,  on  his  return,  used  privately  to  show 
money,  which  had  been  given  to  him  by  his  nephew, 
he  said. 

It  proved  that  this  worthy  had  sworn  information 
against  the  three  young  men  as  accomplices  in  the  mur- 
der of  the  canon.  Two  of  them  met  the  charge  with 
the  best  evidence  they  could,  but  Casselini  had  a  tri- 
umphant answer.  He  was  at  the  time  lying  ill  of  fever, 
and  had  the  evidence  of  the  doctor  who  attended  him; 
of  the  druggist  who  made  up  the  prescriptions ;  of  the 
maid  who  waited  upon  him ;  and  of  a  friend  who  visit- 
ed hira.  N'otwithstanding  this,  his  relatives  prepared 
a  way  of  escape  for  him.  "No,"  he  said,  "there  is 
not  a  shadow  of  proof  against  me,  and  conclusive  evi- 
dence in  my  favor.  I  must  be  liberated  some  time ;  and, 
were  I  to  escape,  a  stain  would  rest  on  my  character." 


176  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

Every  thing  that  threats  and  bribes  could  do  was 
tried  upon  the  witnesses  to  make  them  retract.  The 
doctor,  Baronciani,  was  easily  won.  He  recalled  his 
evidence,  and  from  that  day  lived  under  the  double 
weight  of  the  government  patronage  and  the  public 
curse.  The  friend,  Tarini,  resisted  for  a  while ;  but  he 
had  a  young  wife  and  three  children,  whom  he  saw 
plunged  into  the  deepest  poverty,  and,  rather  than  they 
should  starve,  he  betrayed  his  friend.  There  remained 
only  the  chemist  and  the  maid.  The  girl  was  threaten- 
ed with  imj^risonment  for  perjury ;  but  she  was  brave ; 
into  prison  she  went,  and  there  lay  for  years.  Poor 
old  Carlini,  the  chemist,  was  so  far  advanced  in  age 
that  to  him  a  papal  prison  was  certain  death ;  he  must 
either  swear  away  the  life  of  an  innocent  youth,  or  lay 
down  his  own.  He  did  not  hesitate ;  went  to  prison, 
and  in  natural  course  to  the  hospital;  and  there,  "in 
the  presence  of  all — of  the  curate,  and  of  the  confessor, 
and  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament,  he  swore,  'I  die  a 
victim  of  the  truth.' "  The  curate  and  the  confessor 
had  the  courage  to  leave  to  old  Carlini  a  testimony  of 
his  religious  character  and  praise  of  his  unblemished 
conduct. 

The  three  young  men  were  condemned  to  die  with 
the  two  malefactors.  On  the  evening  before  the  exe- 
cution, the  Jesuit  Castiglioni  came  to  act  as  confessor ; 
but  Testori  told  him  that  he  did  not  need  to  confess, 
for  he  had  promises  by  which  he  knew  he  was  not  to 
die.    When  midnight  had  passed  and  no  pardon  had 


BOLOGNA.  177 

come,  lie  began  to  feel  that  he,  too,  was  to  be  executed, 
and  then  his  dark  soul  quailed  at  the  prospect  before 
him.  In  attendance  Avere  some  brethren  of  a  confra- 
ternity called  that  of  "  Pity,"  the  rules  of  which  bind 
them  to  attend  the  last  hours  of  men  condemned  to 
death.  The  senior  of  these  was  the  most  revered 
citizen  of  Fermo — the  benevolent  old  Marquis  Trevi- 
sani,  stooping  under  the  weight  of  seventy-four  years. 
The  culprit  had  him  called;  and  in  the  reverend  pres- 
ence of  that  old  man,  and  of  the  priest  Castiglioni,  he 
formally  declared  that  the  three  youths  were  innocent 
of  the  death  of  Corsi,  and  that  he  had  been  impelled  to 
say  that  they  were  his  accomplices  by  being  told  that 
they  had  been  his  accusers. 

The  old  marquis,  overwhelmed  with  this  proof  of 
villainy,  knew  too  well  in  what  repute  he  himself  was 
held  by  the  government,  to  think  that  any  interference 
of  his  would  be  of  advantage  to  the  innocence  which 
he  saw,  in  this  awful  moment,  made,  by  the  hand  of 
Providence,  morally  triumphant  over  the  murderous 
power  that  was  striking  it  down.  He  urged  the  con- 
fessor to  take  a  minute  of  the  deposition,  and  immedi- 
ately to  convey  it  to  the  archbishop  and  the  delegate ; 
but  the  Jesuit  replied,  "  I  am  here  to  take  confessions, 
not  depositions." 

The  brothers  of  the  confraternity,  who  were  all  noble- 
men, stood  weeping  hke  children,  for  they  were  every 
one  friends  of  Casellini,  and  all  at  that  moment  impo- 
tent to  help,  though  with  the  proof  of  his  innocence  in 
H2 


178  ITALY   IX  TEANSITION. 

their  hands.  The  police-officer,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
take  minutes  of  every  thing  connected  with  the  execu- 
tion, was  called  to  take  down  this  deposition.  He  left 
a  space  in  the  page  on  which  he  Avas  writing,  and  asked 
his  superiors  if  he  should  write  this  down.  The  reply 
was  "Xo." 

"When  the  mournful  group  arrived  at  the  scaffold, 
what  had  taken  place  in  private  was  unknown  in  the 
city.  Few  had  gone  to  witness  the  murder ;  but  those 
few  were  thrilled  with  horror  when  the  Jesuit  Castig- 
lioni,  commencing  the  ordinary  exhortation,  uttered  the 
strange  words,  "  It  is  not  always  the  guilty  who  die." 
When  the  heads  of  the  three  young  men  of  Fermo  fell 
one  after  another,  the  Jesuit  went  away  to  fall  upon  a 
sick-bed,  the  people  to  say,  "  It  is  not  always  the  guilty 
who  die."  * 

♦For  the  judgment  of  the  court,  see  "Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p. 
392-39G ;  and  for  the  certified  narrative  given  above,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
572-577. 


(Clmptn  XL 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  ROMAGNA  DURING 

THE  TEN  YEARS  OF  RESTORATION,  AS 

SHOWN  BY  OFFICIAL  DOCUMENTS. 


On  May  1st,  1849,  when  the  French  had  laid  siege  to 
Rome,  the  corporation  of  Bologna  met  and  adopted  a 
formal  protest,  addressed  to  General  Oudinot  and  the 
Constituent  Assembly  of  France,  against  the  attempt 
to  restore  a  go.vernment  "  universally  condemned  by 
experience,"  and  to  make  of  "  a  people  of  three  millions 
a  realm  of  vassals,  cut  off  from  the  common  rights  of 
nations,  and  held  as  a  feudal  tenure  for  the  will  and  in- 
terests of  the  Catholic  powers."* 

Five  days  later  an  Austrian  officer  jDresented  himself 
to  the  magistrates  of  Ferrara,  and  demanded  that  they 
should  send  a  deputation  with  full  j)owers  to  deliver, 
into  the  hands  of  Archbishop  Bedini,  the  submission  of 
the  city  to  the  pontiff.  The  magistrates  declared  that 
they  had  not  power  for  so  grave  an  action  without  the 
consent  of  the  corporation.  It  was  summoned,  and  met 
at  10  o'clock  at  night,  in  the  presence  of  four  thousand 
Austrian  soldiers.  Thus  surrounded,  it  deliberated  at 
considerable  length,  and,  by  a  vote  of  thirty-seven 
against  six,  declared  that  it  had  received  no  authority 
to  act  in  so  grave  a  matter.f 

Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  13.  f  Ihid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  16-19. 


*     <£■ 


182  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

The  Austrian  army  soon  opened  an  attack  upon  Bo- 
logna, which  was  obliged  to  capitulate.  Out  of  the 
smoke  of  the  battle  came  forth  a  ruler  for  the  conquer- 
ed city.  He  was  a  priest,  an  archbishop,  the  direct  rep- 
resentative of  the  vicar  of  God :  his  name  was  Bedini. 
In  a  few  days  he  wrote  to  inform  his  government  that 
he  had  ventured  his  sacred  person  inside  the  walls ;  for, 
he  says,  "the  population  w^as  amazed  that  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  government  should  always  be  outside 
the  city,  surrounded  by  foreigners."  He  also  stated 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  accept  the  services  of  the 
corporation ;  but  that  it  was  to  be  said  in  their  favor 
that  they  had  showed  great  zeal  and  activity  in  the 
cause  of  order ;  and,  by  several  interviews,  he  had  now 
satisfied  himself  that  they  were  all  "  choice  men."  His 
testimony  as  to  the  character  of  this  body  is  to  be  borne 
in  mind.*  Moreover,  he  added,  that  on  another  matter 
it  w^as  necessary  for  him  to  say  a  word  to  Cardinal  An- 
tonelli.  "When  the  Austrian  general,  as  one  of  the  terms 
of  capitulation,  was  agreeing  that  the  troops  should  not 
be  disbanded,  provided  they  would  take  the  oath  of 
fidelity  to  the  sovereign, "  I  mentioned  that  my  instruc- 
tions contained  this  order  —  the  dissolution  of  these 
corps ;  but  the  answer  to  me  was  that  the  articles  of 
capitulation  bound  only  the  Austrian  army,  and  were  in 
force  during  the  momentary  occupation ;  and,  on  this 
account,  I  considered  my  own  action  free  when  I  should 
come  to  assume  the  government  of  the  provinces." 
♦  "Documents,"  p.  xxxii.,  xxxiii. 


THE  PAPAL   GOVEENMENT   OP  THE   EOMAGNA.     183 

Thus  the  new  ruler  considered,  at  the  very  beginning, 
that  promises  were  to  bind  an  Austrian  general,  but  not 
an  archbishop. 

On  the  27th  of  July  following,  the  corporation,  fore- 
seeing that,  in  the  event  of  the  Pope's  return  to  Rome, 
the  Constitution  he  had  granted  to  the  country  before 
his  flight  would  probably  be  revoked,  held  an  evening 
meeting,  and  recorded  its  desire  "  that  the  restoration 
of  the  prince  should  not  be  unaccompanied  with  the  re- 
establishment  of  those  representative  institutions  which 
could  not  be  abolished  without  oi^pression  to  the  coun- 
try, and  that  they  considered  that  the  maintenance  of 
the  Constitution  would  be  a  sure  pledge  of  conciliation 
and  harmony." 

The  Austrian  commander,  Strasoldi,  at  once  wrote  to 
Bedini,  telling  him  that  the  minutes  of  this  sitting  must 
be  taken  j)ossession  of,  and  the  authors  proceeded 
against ;  and  that  if  the  archbishop  did  not  feel  certain 
of  effecting  the  seizure  of  the  documents  without  any 
being  made  away  with,  he  had  better  leave  the  matter 
to  him,  the  general.  To  this  Bedini  replied  that  the  ac- 
tion ought  to  be  severe ;  and  that,  as  he  was  not  quite 
certain,  if  he  took  it  in  hand,  but  that  some  of  the  pa- 
pers might  disappear,  the  general  had  better  act  at  once. 
Under  Austrian  orders  the  police  pounced  immediately 
upon  the  officers  of  the  corporation,  seized  the  books, 
discovered  that  the  author  of  the  resolution  was  Count 
Ranuzzi,  took  him  and  the  senator  of  Bologna  into  cus- 
tody, and  fined  the  members  of  the  corporation  who  had 


184  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

attended  in  the  sum  of  two  thousand  crowns.  Bedini, 
apparently  foreseeing  the  effect  which  this  would  have 
upon  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  upon  his  future  ad- 
ministration in  the  Romagna,  positively  wrote  to  his 
own  government  to  say  that  he  had  taken  no  direct 
part  in  the  proceedings,  and  had  only  interposed  to  mit- 
igate the  severity  of  the  Austrians  —  he  had  given  ex- 
planations and  no  more.  He  little  thought  that  this 
lie,  and  the  letter  in  which  he  told  Strasoldi  to  take  the 
matter  into  his  hands  and  to  act  severely,  would  both 
come  under  the  eye  of  the  men  Avhom  he  punished,  and 
would  by  them  be  given  to  the  world.*  Thus,  at  the 
outset,  the  Pope's  representative  goaded  every  leading 
man  in  the  city  to  implacable  hostility,  which  never  re- 
lented so  long  as  the  ill-starred  restoration  continued. 

From  the  city  of  Ferrara  the  delegate  writes  to  his 
superior  at  Bologna  under  a  difficulty.  "  Thank  God," 
he  says, "  the  Republic  is  now  fallen,  and  a  beginning 
made  in  restoring  the  Poj^e's  government  in  Rome." 
Hence  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  official  journal,  the 
only  one  now  published  there,  might  be  introduced  into 
the  legations ;  but  as,  for  the  time  being,  the  papal  gov- 
ernment is  not  restored  "  in  its  plenitude  and  independ- 
ence," he  is  not  sure  whether  he  may  have  "  full  confi- 
dence in  the  rectitude  of  the  principles"  which  may  be 
set  forth  in  that  print.  This,  be  it  remembered,  was 
the  only  print  the  people  could  see,  and  was  directly 
official. 

*  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  144, 145. 


THE  PAPAL  G0VERN:&IENT   OF   THE   EOMAGNA.      185 

The  restored  government  published  a  document  which 
it  called  an  amnesty,  offering  pardon  to  all  who  were 
not  excepted;  but  the  exceptions  were  tremendous. 
Among  them  were  named  the  chiefs  of  corps,  or  gen- 
eral officers ;  and  the  way  that  this  part  of  the  compact 
was  kept  may  be  seen  by  the  following  statement  of 
the  Cavaliere  Gehnarelli.* 

There  presented  himself  at  Bologna  a  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Cocchi,  who  in  the  capitulation  of  Ancona, 
which  he  had  defended,  obtained,  with  others  his  com- 
panions, from  the  Austrian  army,  promise  of  life  and 
liberty.  But  Monsignor,  representative  of  the  Pope, 
did  not  wish  to  hear  much  talk  about  keeping  faith,  or 
respecting  in  any  manner  people  whom  the  country 
might  love.  He  commanded  the  arrest  of  Cocchi ;  but 
he,  being  advised  of  it,  kept  out  of  the  w^ay.  Then  it 
was  that  his  uncle,  unknown  to  him,  went  to  General 
Marziani,  to  whom  he  told  the  fact,  presenting  to  him 
the  so-called  Decree  of  Amnesty  of  Pius  IX.,  absolving 
officers  who  were  not  chiefs  of  corps,  and  the  capitula- 
tion of  Ancona.  Although  Austrian,  General  Marziani 
fumed. 

"What  does  the  priest  say?"  he  asked  the  Advocate 
Cocchi,  who  was  speaking  with  him.  {The  priest  was 
Monsignor  Bedini.) 

*'  He  says  to  his  constables"  (answered  Cocchi)  "  to 
carry  my  nephew  to  prison." 

*  Lutti  deilo  Stato  JRomano,  p.  1.,  li. 


186  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

"  Is  it  possible  ?     But  he  was  not  a  general  officer." 

"  Monsignor  Bedini  will  have  found  in  some  theolog- 
ical book  that  lieutenant  colonels  are  general  officers." 

"  And  the  capitulation  ?" 

"  That  is  a  matter  which  concerns  you,  general." 

"  I  will  write  to  him  immediately ;  and  if  you  do  me 
the  favor  to  come  to  me  in  a  few  days,  I  shall  have  his 
answer." 

The  Advocate  Cocchi  returned.  The  Austrian  gen- 
eral, seeing  him,  said,  "  Mr.  Advocate,  the  priest  has  not 
rej^licd  to  me,  but  your  nephew  may  go  at  large ;  no- 
body will  touch  him.  In  any  case,  it  would  be  an  affiair 
of  a  few  minutes." 

"  Nobody  did  touch  him.  \^"e  who  heard  this  story 
from  the  Advocate  Cocchi  afterward  found  the  letter 
of  General  Marziani,  and  those  of  other  Austrian  gener- 
als, who  bitterly  reproved  the  pontifical  government  for 
the  military  proscri^Dtion,  which,  to  strike  majors,  lieu- 
tenant colonels,  heads  of  squadrons,  and  staff-officers, 
classed  them  all  as  chiefs  of  corps.  This  as  general  rule, 
but  in  fact  officers  and  soldiers  of  all  ranks  were  con- 
stantly exposed  to  all  the  phrensy  of  the  Antonelli  po- 
lice." 

In  November,  1850,  eleven  prisoners,  who  had  been 
lying  for  eighteen  months  at  Forli,  without  even  being 
brought  to  examination,  prevailed  upon  a  bishop  to  en- 
treat the  apostolic  delegate  to  give  them  a  trial.  He 
replies  that  he  is  very  sorry  "  not  to  be  able  in  any  way 
to  accede  to  his  recommendation,  because  these  prison- 


THE   PxVPAL   GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   EOMAGNA.      187 

ers  are  within  the  direct  jurisdiction  of  superior  author- 
ities, whom  he  has  not  failed  ah-eady  to  entreat  to  take 
some  step  with  regard  to  them."* 

A  year  later,  the  Prelate  Stephen  Rossi,  with  his  own 
hand,  wrote  the  following  to  the  Governor  of  Faenza. 
"  I  have  gathered  from  your  political  note  that  you  have 
put  into  prison  some  boys,  who  allowed  themselves  to 
insult  one  Nunziati  of  the  borough,  and  that  you  have 
ordered  them  to  be  put  occasionally  upon  bread  and 
water.  I  feel  that  it  is  always  necessary  to  use  prompt 
and  severe  remedies  for  similar  faults,  because,  in  such 
a  city  as  Faenza,  a  little  spark  between  the  peoj)le  of 
the  borough  and  those  of  the  city  may  have  fatal  conse- 
quences, unless  strongly  put  down  at  the  beginning. 
Therefore  I  applaud  the  punishment  you  have  inflicted, 
and  I  instruct  you  not  to  discontinue  it  without  my  or- 
ders ;  and  to  place  them  upon  bread  and  water  twice  a 
week.  Farther,  it  would  be  desirable  that  you  should 
come  to  an  understanding  with  the  Austrian  command- 
ant in  regard  to  similar  annoyances,  especially  among 
young  people.  You  ought  to  engage  the  commandant 
to  use  prompt  and  efiicacious  punishments  whenever  a 
fact  of  this  kind  occurs,  and  when  the  age  and  constitu- 
tion of  the  person  will  bear  it.  In  prison,  young  men 
rather  get  worse  than  become  humbled ;  and  if,  instead 
of  it  (imprisonment),  the  Austrian  captain  would  sub- 
ject them  to  a  punishment  which  on  several  accounts 
is  repugnant  to  them,  we  should  have  no  fear  of  the  re- 
*.  "Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  590. 


188  ITALY    LN   TEAIsSiTIUJN. 

newal  of  such  faults."  In  the  original,  whicli  remains 
in  the  archives  of  Ravenna,  instead  of  reading  as  the 
copy  found  at  Faenza,  "  a  punishment  which  on  several 
accounts  is  repugnant  to  them,"  it  says,  "  which  is  re- 
pugnant to  them  on  account  of  the  shame  and  the  pain ;" 
but  the  worthy  prelate  canceled  these  words  and  sub- 
stituted the  others. 

The  "prompt  and  efficacious  punishment"  thus 
smoothly  recommended  to  the  Austrians  by  the  priests 
was  none  other  than  that  of  the  bastinade.* 

The  establishment  of  this  penalty  required  a  peculiar 
officer,  and  accordingly  we  find  that  such  was  discover- 
ed. The  terms  of  his  appointment  are  taken  from  a 
criminal  trial  which  Avas  still  proceeding  when  the 
"Documents"  were  printed.  "Louis  Bazzigotti,  who 
twelve  separate  times  had  been  imprisoned,  and  seven 
times  convicted  of  theft,  breach  of  ban,  and  swindling, 
after  having  endured  the  sentence,  was,  either  in  the 
year  1850  or  1851,  imprisoned  anew,  by  way  of  precau- 
tion. At  this  time  he  undertook  the  employment  of 
cudgel-man,  with  the  monthly  pay  of  fifteen  pauls,  be- 
sides double  rations;"  but  Signor  Bazzigotti  himself 
puts  out  of  doubt  the  important  question  of  the  date 
in  his  noble  history  by  saying  in  his  examination  tliat 
it  was  "on  the  15th  of  May,  1851,  by  appointment  of 
his  Excellency  Monsignor  Bedini,  communicated  to 
him  by  the  Cavaliere  Curzi,  that  he  was  employed  as 
bastinader,  and  that  he  is  a  Catholic."  However,  good 
*  "Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  G08. 


THE  PAPAL  GOVEENMENT   OF  THE  EOMAGNA.      189 

times  did  not  always  last  with  Signer  Bazzigotti :  after 
he  had  conducted  himself  very  well  for  two  or  three 
years,  cudgehng  his  brother  Catholics,  he  made  earnest 
aj^plication  to  be  allowed  to  go  out  to  see  his  family, 
promising  to  return  the  same  day.  However,  he  took 
a  ramble  into  the  country,  changed  his  name,  professed 
himself  a  police  agent,  and  extorted  money  from  sever- 
al peoj^le.  He  was  again  caught,  and  carried  back  to 
the  prison,  and  then  he  had  to  exercise  his  Catholic 
ministry  as  bastinader  without  any  salary.  After  an- 
other year  of  good  conduct  he  had  his  wages  restored, 
and  continued  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  fifteen  pauls, 
Avith  double  rations,  and  the  privilege  of  bastinading, 
under  the  direct  sanction  of  bishops  and  archbishops, 
up  to  the  29th  of  May,  in  the  year  of  grace  1859.* 

The  condition  to  which  this  sort  of  administration 
brought  the  subjects  of  His  Holiness  may  be  gathered, 
now  and  then,  from  the  remonstrances  made  by  the 
secular  ofiicials  to  those  in  authority.  For  instance, 
under  date  of  the  16th  of  July,  1853,  the  local  Governor 
of  Faenza  thus  writes : 

"Most  eeverend  Excellency, 
"  Yesteeday  I  went  to  the  prisons  for  an  extrordina- 
ry  visit.  My  heart  was  wrung  with  grief.  Without 
counting  those  in  other  prisons,  I  here  found  ninety-one. 
Very  few  of  them  are  under  trial ;  several  are  in  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Austrians,  several  under  that  of  the 
*  "  Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  95,  96. 


190  ITALY   IN  TKAXSmOX. 

Sacra  Consulta  (a  high  Roman  court),  but  the  greater 
part  are  imprisoned  for  precaution,  without  having  been 
examined,  without  having  been  charged,  and  probably 
without  being  suspected.  Some  have  been  confined  for 
months,  some  for  years,  some  for  lustres.  This  is  a 
bleeding  wound,  and  the  real  cause  of  the  discontent,  of 
the  hatred  against  the  authorities,  and  the  spite  against 
the  government.  Crime  can  not  be  conquered  in  this 
way  by  striking  in  the  lump :  the  people  can  not  in  this 
way  be  drawn  to  love  the  august  sovereign.  For  the 
last  sanguine  facts,  three  individuals  have  been  arrested 
by  the  governor  and  mayor,  by  order  of  the  public 
prosecutor,  and  those  only  have  been  examined.  By 
order  of  the  delegate,  twelve  others  were  arrested  for 
precaution,  but  these  have  nothing  to  do  with  those ; 
either  the  one  or  the  other  are  innocent.  The  outcry 
is  almost  general.  It  is  necessary  that  as  to  this  some 
firm  and  rigorous,  but  just  step  should  be  taken ;  have 
the  goodness  to  tell  me  what,  otherwise  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  wii^e  the  tears  of  a  liundred  families,  that  are 
lamenting  the  imprisonment  of  parents,  of  husbands,  or 
sons,  and  of  those  hundreds  of  fiimilies  that  are  lan- 
guishing in  poverty  because  of  the  absence  of  the  per- 
son arrested. 

"When  I  looked  into  the  records  of  the  court  I  found 
a  mournful  void;  four  hundred  and  fifty  cases  have 
been  pending  from  four  to  five  years  and  more.  I  do 
not  wish  to  take  possession  of  such  a  troublesome  in- 
heritance ;  but  at  least  I  do  not  wish  to  let  the  cases 
that  can  be  heard,  sleep." 


THE  PAPAL   GOVEENMENT   OP  THE   EOMAGNA.      191 

Then  the  poor  man  goes  on  to  beg  for  help,  that  he 
may  have  some  means  of  expediting  matters.* 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  officials  felt  them- 
selves under  the  obligation  of  proceeding  with  the  cau- 
tious forms  of  justice  habitual  in  civilized  countries. 
For  instance,  a  certain  captain  at  Cesena  writes  to  the 
governor  to  report  that  some  of  his  men  have  arrested 
one  Ricci  on  the  charge  of  having  been  insolent  to 
them,  and  the  governor  leaves  this  record  upon  the 
case :  "  That,  considering  the  report  made  to  him,  and 
the  want  of  proof  by  which  he  could  judicially  condemn 
Ricci,  he  orders  that  he  shall  be  imprisoned  for  eight 
days  by  way  of  correction,  with  the  injunction  that  he 
shall  have  one  day  the  ordinary  prison  allowance,  and 
the  alternate  day  bread  and  water."f 

One  would  have  thought  that  such  a  government 
would  at  least  have  had  the  advantages  of  expedition. 

In  the  town  of  Forli,  when  some  executions  were 
taking  place  contrary  to  all  justice,  the  people  shut  their 
shops,  and  for  this  seventy-two  of  them  were  fined  in 
sums  ranging  from  three  to  forty  crowns. 

The  government  never  succeeded  in  bringing  the 
authorities  in  Bologna  fairly  under  its  hand;  and  ac- 
cordingly we  find  that  the  court  there,  in  the  year 
1856,  losing  all  patience  at  the  kind  of  cases  that 
were  brought  before  it,  put  upon  record  the  judgment 
found  in  the  Appendix,  in  which,  instead  of  convict- 
ing the  prisoners,  it  declares  the  police  guilty  of  tor- 

*  " Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  42, 43.  f  Ihid,  vol.  ii.,  p.  580. 


192  ITALY  IN  TBANSITION. 

ture,  of  extorting  false  confessions,  and  of  complicity 
in  crimes.* 

The  connection  of  the  police  with  robbers,  and  the 
instigation  of  crime  on  the  part  of  the  authorities,  is  an 
idea  so  familiar  to  the  minds  of  the  people  who  have 
lived  under  the  papal  government  that  a  stranger  can 
hardly  believe  that  it  is  any  thing  more  than  a  morbid 
state  of  suspicion  ;  but  this  judgment  does  too  much  to 
accredit  it ;  and  fouler  instances  are  found  in  these  doc- 
uments, but  we  give  this,  as  coming  with  the  gravity 
of  a  formal  decision  from  a  court  composed  of  judges 
chosen  by  Rome. 

The  following  document  only  echoes  the  hundred 
hints  that  one  hears  among  the  people:  it  does  not 
prove  that  the  government  was  guilty  of  the  turpitude 
mentioned ;  it  only  proves  that  its  own  officers  took  it 
for  granted  it  might  be.  It  is  to  be  found  at  page  606 
of  the  second  volume. 

"P.  S.P. 

"  Most  illusteious  Sir, 
"  It  having  come  to  the  knowledge  of  this  division 
of  police  that  the  court  of  Rome  has  written  to  the 
friars  of  your  country,  inviting  them  to  kill  some  Aus- 
trians  belonging  to  the  garrison  stationed  in  the  fort 
there,  with  a  view  to  cause  the  principle  of  non-inter- 
vention to  be  broken  through,  and  that  the  Austrians 
might  rush  in  upon  our  provinces  to  avenge  an  outrage 
♦  Appendix  C. 


THE   PAPAL   GOVEENMENT   OF   THE  EOMAGNA.     193 

which  would  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  country  peo- 
ple as  an  effect  of  the  revolution ;  I  pray  you,  illustri- 
ous sir,  to  have  the  goodness  to  inform  me  if  this  news 
is  certain,  that  I  may  take  the  necessary  resolutions  in 
the  matter  for  the  good  of  our  cause.  Also,  I  should 
pray  you  to  keep  up  an  official  correspondence  with 
this  section,  in  order  to  the  advantage  of  our  common 
affairs,  and  I  assure  you  that  I  shall  always  be  ready  to 
give  you  such  statements  as  may  be  necessary." 

Signed  "  G.  Della  Scala  ;"  dated  "  Ravenna,  22d 
February,  1831 ;"  and  directed  "To  the  Political  Sec- 
tion at  Ferrara." 

The  great  inconvenience  of  the  papal  government 
was  that  it  had  subjects.  It  executed  a  great  many — 
more,  indeed,  than  all  the  other  governments  in  Europe 
put  together,  Austria  excepted ;  it  imprisoned  as  many 
as  it  could,  until  there  was  no  more  room ;  and  it  exiled 
not  a  few.* 

*  Gennarelli  says,  "Monsieur  de  Corcelles,  in  Ms  book  on  the 
pontifical  government,  dares  to  print  the  following  words:  'From 
two  to  three  hundred  might  have  been  expelled  according  to  the 
terms  of  the  amnesty  first  promulgated,  but  afterward  amended  and 
made  milder.  However,  those  were  reduced  to  thirty-eight.  The 
words  "  chief  of  a  corps"  were  interpreted  in  a  way  not  to  designate 
more  than  eight  or  nine  superior  officers.'  And  in  a  note  he  add- 
ed, 'Twenty  members  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  embarked  for 
France  and  Piedmont  October  1st;  fifteen  of  those  who  were  com- 
promised left  by  steam-boat  on  the  5th  of  October,  and  three  oth- 
ers a  little  later.     The  categoiy  of  ' '  chiefs  of  corps"  only  led  to  two 

I 


194  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

In  addition  to  all  these,  another  expedient  occurred 
to  the  governing  mind  of  Bedini,  We  find  a  letter 
from  no  less  a  person  than  Radetzky  himself,  in  which 
he  acknowledges  that  he  has  received  the  archbishop's 
proposal  to  enroll  in  the  Austrian  army  those  papal  sub- 
jects who  gave  cause  to  fear  that  they  might  disturb 
the  public  tranquillity.  The  field-marshal  tells  the  arch- 
bishop that  his  authority  is  not  sufficient  to  decide  upon 
this  pro2:)osal,  but  he  refers  it  to  Vienna.  Then  comes 
a  second  letter,  in  which  the  generous  ofier  is  rather 
harshly  dechned ;  its  most  reverend  author  being  told 
that  the  government  does  not  wish  to  "  destroy  the  ex- 
emplary spirit  of  the  imperial  army."  However,  he 
had  another  expedient.  The  papal  soldiers  were  afflict- 
ed with  a  disease,  the  chief  symptom  of  which  was  de- 
sertion; and  we  find  the  Austrian  general  Gravert  re- 
plying to  an  application  of  the  same  fertile  Bedini,  and 
telling  him  that  he  could  not  undertake  to  try  these 
deserters  in  the  Austrian  courts,  for  that  it  was  a  pure- 
ly military  offense,  and  therefore  the  archbishop  must 
deal  with  them  himself  by  pontifical  law.  To  Cardinal 
Antonelli  he  makes  the  simple  j^roposal  that  they  should 
get  every  province  garrisoned  with  Austrians,  without 
which,  he  says,  "  every  effort  is  vain  for  the  restoration 

exiles.'  I  don't  know,"  says  Gennarelli,  *'if  lies  were  ever  told 
with  so  much  hardihood.  We  beg  Monsieur  de  CorccUes  and  the 
Bishop  of  Orleans  to  read,  among  the  documents  of  the  pontifical 
government,  the  statistics  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  and  of  the 
chiefs  of  corps  exiled." — Lutli  deUo  Stato  Romano,  1^54. 


THE   PAPAL   GOVEENMENT    OF   THE   KOMAGNA.     195 

of  the  government  upon  a  sound  principle  and  a  basis 
of  order."  The  only  other  matter  he  suggests  in  the 
same  letter  is  that  a  treaty  should  be  concluded  with 
some  power  for  sending  a  convenient  number  of  incon- 
venient subjects  across  the  Atlaiatic.  He  thinks  North 
America  would  be  the  best  place.  Algeria  is  not  favor- 
ed— perhaps  too  near — and  something  or  other  decides 
him  against  South  America.  He  has  gone  so  far  as  to 
send  to  Vienna  for  a  person  acquainted  with  the  United 
States,  in  order  that  he  might  give  the  government  the 
necessary  information.* 

Zealous  as  the  archbishop  was  in  his  efforts  to  rid 
the  papal  territory  of  the  bad  burden  of  thinking  men, 
he  had  subordinates  who  considered  him  tame.  In 
April,  1854,  from  Faenza,  we  find  a  commandant  of 
gens-cVarmes  fuming  at  the  restraint  under  which  he 
lies,  and  treating  the  measures  of  Monsignor  Bedini  as 
any  thing  but  vigorous.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
at  this  very  time,  according  to  a  document  already 
quoted,  there  were  more  than  four  hundred  cases  not 
even  tried  in  the  prisons  of  Faenza,  which  is  only  a 
place  of  twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  But  the  brave 
Major  Dominicis  writes  to  the  apostolic  delegate  at  Ra- 
venna, that  "  if  he  had  in  December  last  written  to  the 
legate  that  he  must  send  two  hundred  persons  across 
the  seas,  and  if,  since  then,  he  had  verbally  told  the 
apostolic  delegate  that  it  would  be  better  to  send  three 
hundred,  it  was  because  he  had  turned  the  matter  well 
*  '*  Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  175,  176. 


196  ITALY   IX   TRANSITION. 

over  in  his  mind ;  and  now  he  is  prepared  to  say  that 
they  must  select  four  hundred  of  the  most  dangerous, 
and  send  them  off."  But  then,  he  says,  to  propose  to 
arrest  three  hundred  at  once  is  useless,  seeing  that  dif- 
ficulties were  raised  about  the  first  twenty,  and  the  sec- 
ond thirty,  and  they  even  hesitated  to  arrest  forty-one. 
Therefore,  to  propose  the  taking  of  three  hundred  to- 
gether would  only  be  to  expose  themselves  to  reproach 
as  to  the  impotency  of  their  efforts,  "  which  impotency 
will  never  cease  as  long  as  the  half  measures  lately 
adopted  are  continued,"  which  some  may  think  to  be 
efficacious  ones,  but  which,  according  to  his  short  sight, 
"  are  only  a  lenitive  plaster  laid  upon  a  limb  eaten  with 
cancer."* 

The  official  journal  of  Rome  of  the  2 2d  of  March, 
1851,  quoted  in  the  "Documents,"  sets  itself  to  repel 
the  charge  that  the  papal  government  is  unable  to  keep 
down  disorder,  and  declares,  "  We  will  now  place  mat- 
ters in  their  true  aspect,  dealing  witli  facts  and  not  with 
vain  words.  Can  it  be  denied  that  in  the  governments 
of  Faenza  and  Imola,  as  the  result  only  of  two  trials, 
eighty-two  persons  were  shot ;  besides  whom  ten  oth- 
ers obtained  commutation  of  a  similar  sentence  into  that 
of  the  galleys,  and  thirteen  others  were  condemned  to 
temporary  or  pei'petual  prison?"  Hence  the  official 
journal  argues  that  the  papal  government  is  vigorous 
and  fully  able  to  maintain  order !  What  follows  I  dare 
not  write  in  words  of  my  o^\ti.  Gennarelli  says,  "  The 
*  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  205. 


THE   PAPAL   GOVEKNMENT   OF   THE   EOMAGNA.      197 

official  journal  might  have  added  that  the  times  were 
improving,  because  another  judge  at  Ravenna  condemn- 
ed eight  hundred  in  a  single  sentence  ;  and  this  judge, 
moreover,  was  a  cardinal  of  the  Holy  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  was  called  Rivarola,  who  died  a  few  years 
ago."* 

If  the  judges  and  superior  officers  were  such,  we  may 
tell  what  the  subordinates  would  be.  From  the  har- 
rowing evidence  before  us,  we  will  only  take  one  exam- 
ple.f  It  is  an  extract  from  the  depositions  in  a  process 
at  law.  In  1853,  one  of  the  witnesses,  named  Cussini, 
says :  "  The  officer  of  police,  Paganini,  had  me  taken 
down  into  a  cellar  by  six  or  seven  of  his  men,  where  he 
made  them  cover  my  mouth  and  beat  me  with  sticks,  in 
order  that  he  might  teach  me  what  I  was  to  say ;  and 
then  he  began  to  recount  to  me,  part  by  part,  this  crime 
of  house-breaking ;  and,  for  fear  of  being  further  bastin- 
aded,  I  assented  to  every  thing."  The  same  witness,  at 
a  subsequent  examination,  said,  "  The  sub-constables 
will  themselves  tell  you  that  several  days  Paganini  had 
me  taken  into  his  own  office,  and  there,  armed  with  a 
knife,  he  threatened  to  cut  my  throat ;  and  he  did  give 
me  some  slight  wounds,  insisting  that  I  should  confess 
a  crime  that  I  did  not  know.  He  took  me  by  the  hair, 
he  kicked  me;  he  gave  me  blows  with  his  fist,  and  he 
beat  me  in  every  possible  way."  Another  witness  says, 
"  He  kept  me  closely  confined  for  fourteen  days,  mak- 

*  Lutti  dello  Stato  Romano^  p.  xxxix. 
t  "Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  604. 


198  ITALY  IN  TEANSITION. 

ing  me  hear  every  night  the  beatings  that  he  gave  to 
the  other  prisoners ;  and  making  me  observe  that  he  set 
his  great  dog  upon  those  wretches,  and  it  bit  them. 
He  told  me  that  he  should  treat  me  in  the  same  way  if 
I  did  not  tell  the  truth  as  to  the  house-breaking  at 
Olma ;  and  then  I  had  to  say  not  only  what  was  true,  but 
also  what  Paganini  wished,  in  order  to  exempt  me  from 
the  cruelties  which  he  used  to  the  others.  The  cudgel- 
ing employed  by  Paganini  is  indescribable,  and  any 
body  would  tell  what  is  not  true  to  escape  it."  This 
evidence  is  confirmed  by  that  of  one  of  the  sub-consta- 
bles, who  describes  the  manner  of  action.  He  says 
that  the  "  officer  put  a  handkerchief  into  the  moutli  of 
the  prisoner  that  he  was  going  to  flog;  then  he  rolled 
a  sheet  about  his  head,  in  order  that  his  howls  should 
not  be  heard ;  that  he  had  done  this  with  Cussini,  and 
then  beat  him  with  sticks,  at  which  I  was  present  sev- 
eral times,  as  also  three  other  sub-constables,"  whom  he 
names.  "  I  take  it  that  in  treating  the  prisoners  in  tliis 
way  he  had  the  orders  of  the  governor,  of  whom  he  is 
a  great  friend,  and  also  of  the  superiors  in  Bologna." 
Another  sub-constable  says  that  the  blows  of  the  stick 
given  to  Cussini  amounted  to  sixty. 

Amid  all  these  horrors  enacted  by  the  priests  in  tem- 
poral government,  they  did  not  neglect  spiritual  mat- 
ters. In  March,  1850,  a  convention  of  cardinals,  bish- 
ops, and  archbishops  met  in  Loretto,  and  adopted  an 
edict  which,  by  authority  of  the  Pope,  was  republished 
in  the  Lent  of  185G.    This  is  directed  against  the  prev- 


THE  PAPAL   GOVERNMENT   OF   THE   EOMAGNA.     199 

alent  sins  of  the  country,  especially  against  blasphemy, 
non-observance  of  holy  days,  profanity  in  churches,  vio- 
lation of  fasts,  and  immorality.  The  decrees  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix.*  It  is  enacted  that  all  insults 
offered  to  the  name  of  God,  or  the  Virgin,  or  the  saints, 
shall  be  punished  by  imprisonment  from  ten  to  thirty 
days — a  slur  upon  St.  Anthony  and  an  offense  against 
the  thrice  holy  name  being  joined  together :  for  a  sec- 
ond fault,  the  penalty  shall  be  heavier,  and  prison  fare 
be  sometimes  changed  for  bread  and  water.  In  case  of 
obstinacy,  the  full  penalties  of  the  canon  law  must  come 
in  "  at  the  will  of  the  ordinary."  All  those  strokes  to 
be  laid  on  at  the  private  will  of  a  single  man  !  Keep- 
ers of  coffee-houses,  hotels,  public  houses,  and  eating- 
houses  are  bound  to  reprove  and  turn  out  blasphemers ; 
and,  if  they  can  not  do  so,  immediately  to  give  informa- 
tion to  the  Holy  Office ;  "  and  failing  this,  they  will  be 
proceeded  against  with  the  greatest  rigor." 

It  is  carefully  stated  that  the  penalty  here  expressed 
does  not  apply  to  persons  who  deliberately  utter  any 
thing  heretical ;  that  they  are  not  simply  blasphemers, 
but  heretics,  or  suspected  of  heresy ;  and  that  these 
must  be  proceeded  with,  not  summarily,  as  the  others, 
but  by  canon  law ;  and,  under  pain  of  excommunication 
in  the  largest  sense,  all  are  charged  to  inform  upon  any 
persons  whom  they  have  ever  heard  uttering  heretical 
blasphemies. 

The  non-observance  of  holy  days  is  to  be  punished 
*  Appendix  D. 


200  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

with  a  fine  of  from  five  pauls  to  three  scudi  (from  two 
to  twelve  shillings),  and  with  imprisonment  of  from  two 
to  twelve  days  ;  the  penalty  to  be  doubled  for  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  ofiense.  Those  who  do  not  keep  the  fasts 
are  to  be  punished  with  the  very  same  penalties.  It  is 
formally  stated  that  "  the  names  of  informers  and  wit- 
nesses will  be  kept  secret ;"  and  immediately  following 
this  are  the  words,  "  The  fines  shall  go,  half  for  the  ben- 
efit of  sacred  buildings,  as  appointed  by  the  ordinary, 
and  the  other  half  shall  be  divided  between  the  inform- 
er and  the  police,  if  they  have  had  to  do  with  the  case;" 
and  then  comes  the  provision  that  if  the  punishment  is 
not  fine,  but  imprisonment,  the  person  convicted,  if  he 
has  the  means,  shall  pay  fifty  baiocchi  (about  two  shil- 
lings) to  the  informer  and  the  pohce.  To  these  decrees 
are  placed  the  names  of  three  cardinals,  four  archbish- 
ops, and  twelve  bishops.  This  incitement  and  bribe  to 
sjDy  and  inform  is  to  be  put  u])  in  the  sacristy  of  every 
parish  church,  and  in  all  the  houses  of  entertainment  in 
the  country. 

The  "  Documents"  contain  a  decree  of  an  inquisitor 
general,  which  will  also  be  found  in  the  Appendix,*  in 
which  he  lays  upon  all  the  duty  of  informing  not  only 
against  heretics,  but  those  who  are  suspected  or  report- 
ed to  be  such,  or  favorers,  or  receivers,  or  defenders  of 
them ;  and  in  this  respect  the  poor  heretics  are  put  in 
a  much  worse  position  than  Jews,  Mohammedans,  and 
heathens,  because,  in  their  case,  nothing  is  said  about 
persons  who  are  "suspected,"  or  "reported,"  or  who 
*  Appendix  E. 


THE   PAPAL  GOVERNMENT   OF  THE   KOMAGNA.      201 

"  favor,"  "  receive,"  or  "  defend"  them,  but  simply  of 
the  open  criminals  themselves.  Another  matter  upon 
which  all  good  subjects  are  bound  to  inform,  with  the 
certainty  of  having  their  neighbors  punished  and  their 
own  names  kept  secret,  is  against  all  who  have  done 
"  any  thing  from  which  can  be  inferred  an  express  or 
tacit  compact  with  the  devil,  by  exorcising,  incantations, 
magic,  witchcraft,  or  ojQfering  to  him  odors,  incense,  or 
prayers  to  find  treasure,  or  doing  any  thing  else  in  which 
his  name  and  work  comes  in."  Kaffirland  and  Italy  are 
close  together ! 

In  addition  to  all  these  edicts  is  another  from  the 
Bishop  of  Senigagli,  the  native  city  of  Pio  Nono,  in 
which  he  enacts  that  young  persons  affianced  shall  not 
be  permitted  to  have  private  interviews  before  they  are 
married,  or  give  or  receive  presents  ;  and  all  parents  or 
heads  of  families  are  held  accountable  for  preventing 
disobedience ;  and  it  is  positively  added,  immediately 
after,  that  every  person  who  breaks  this  law  will  be 
punished  with  fifteen  days'  imprisonment,  and  he  must 
maintain  himself  at  his  own  expense ;  the  presents  shall 
be  forfeited,  and  applied  to  such  pious  uses  as  may  be 
appointed ;  and  then  follows,  in  case  of  obstinacy,  the 
more  terrible  but  less  tangible  punishment  of  excommu- 
nication. 

All  this  seems  very  horrible  as  a  means  of  demoraliz- 
ing society,  setting  neighbor  against  neighbor,  and  mak- 
ing every  foot  tread  as  if  every  step  was  over  the  hollow 
echoing  chambers  of  the  Inquisition. 

12 


202  ITAXY    IN    TKAXSITION. 

The  question  naturally  comes,  "  Does  any  thing  prac- 
tical ever  arise  from  this  in  our  day  ?"  If  you  turn  to 
vol.  i.,  p.  316,  of  these  "Documents,"  you  will  find  that 
in  Bertinora,  a  city  of  four  thousand  inhabitants,  the 
court,  composed  of  five  judges,  a  vicar-general,  an  arch- 
deacon, and  three  others,  tried  Baptist  Orlati  under  the 
charge  of  irFcverence  in  church,  insulting  a  priest,  and 
uttering  heresy.  The  very  words  of  their  own  sentence 
charge  him  with  only  these  offenses :  attending  with 
disrespect,  and  without  due  reverence,  in  the  holy  tem- 
ple, during  the  celebration  of  the  Divine  mysteries ;  re- 
fusing to  give  homage  to  God ;  showing  himself  contin- 
ually sitting  with  his  cap  on  his  head,  in  church,  even 
while  the  most  holy  host  was  elevated  for  the  adoration 
of  the  faithful.  When  he  was  charitably  admonished 
by  the  reverend  chief  priest,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  utter 
vile  language,  and  this  to  the  great  scandal  of  the  peo- 
ple assembled  in  the  church ;  and,  in  fine,  he  uttered 
heretical  words,  saying  that  Jesus  Christ  was  one  who 
did  not  know  all,  or  could  not  know  all,  because  He 
would  then  have  sent  His  apostles  to  preach  in  the  New 
World,  which  was  not  discovered ;  and  also  expressing 
himself  that  he  believed  in  nothing  but  death,  because 
it  is  the  end  of  life,  and  there  is  .neither  paradise  nor 
hell. 

These,  then,  are  the  charges  of  which  this  man  was 
held  guilty.  He  was  rich,  educated,  and,  his  judges  say, 
keen  and  clever  in  business.  And  to  what  is  he  sen- 
tenced ?    First,  to  five  years  in  the  galleys,  for  his  ir- 


THE   PAPAL   GOVEKNMENT   OP   THE   EOMAGNA.      203 

reverence  in  church :  on  this  point  the  court  was  not 
unanimous,  one  judge  demurring.  For  the  second  of- 
fense, of  insulting  the  priest,  he  is  sentenced  to  a  year 
of  imprisonment  after  the  expiration  of  his  five  years, 
and  that  unanimously ;  and  for  the  third  offense,  of  ut- 
tering heresy,  to  another  year  of  imprisonment,  to  begin 
at  the  end  of  the  sixth ;  and  this  too,  it  would  appear, 
was  unanimous.  Let  it  be  repeated,  that  the  date  of 
this  judgment  was  "Bertinora,  the  21st  of  June,  1855." 
In  the  Lutti  dello  Stato  Romano^  at  p.  67,  we  have  the 
following  narrative : 

Punishment  poe  Blasphemy. 
In  the  city  of  Fermo,  two  citizens  were  accused  of 
blasphemy.  The  bishop  commanded  them  to  be  bound 
and  put  in  j)rison;  afterward,  on  a  high  day,  he  had 
them  carried  to  an  open  place  outside  the  city  gates. 
They  were  made  to  kneel  down,  and  the  7nordacchia 
was  placed  on  the  lips  of  one  and  on  the  tongue  of  the 
other.  One  died  not  many  hours  after  having  under- 
gone the  punishment,  and  the  life  of  the  other  was  in 
great  danger.  For  strangers  who  may  be  ignorant  of 
it,  we  will  tell  what  the  mordaccJiia  is.  It  is  formed 
of  two  rods,  which  at  the  two  extremities  can  be  com- 
pressed together  by  the  force  of  steel  springs.  The 
mouth  of  the  sufferer  being  opened,  his  hands  and  feet 
tied,  and  he  made  to  put  out  his  tongue,  the  tongue  it- 
self is  pressed  between  the  rods  closed  by  the  springs. 
Thus  the  wretch  remains  with  his  tongue  out  of  his 


204  ITALY   IN  TEANSinON. 

mouth,  tortured  by  that  barbarous  instrument.  Little 
by  little  the  tongue  enlarges,  and  thrusts  out  the  lips. 
If  the  victim  should  refuse  to  put  out  the  tongue,  the 
executioners  take  his  lips,  and  press  them  between  the 
two  steel  springs ;  so  that  the  mouth  remains  closed 
against  respiration,  the  steel  springs  stick  to  the  lips, 
and  the  anguish  of  the  sufferer  can  not  vent  itself  by 
cries,  and  escapes  only  through  the  eyes,  the  color  of 
the  face,  and  frequently  by  a  paroxysm  of  convulsion. 
In  the  execution  at  Fermo,  a  doctor  declared  that  the 
men  tortured  would  die  in  less  than  an  hour  unless  the 
punishment  ceased.  The  barbarity,  however,  was  car- 
ried to  such  an  extent  as  to  compel  them  to  walk  to  the 
prison  (a  mile)  with  the  mordaechia^  through  which,  as 
we  have  said,  one  of  them,  Luigi  Tacchi,  died  a  few 
hours  after. 

One  of  the  last  men  with  whom  I  talked  in  Bologna, 
looking  out  of  an  eye  where  consumption  gleamed,  said, 
"  SiE,  THE  Almighty  is  tired  of  Rome." 


nfln  I. 

THE  APENNINES. 


Looking  at  the  map,  one  is  led  to  ask  how  much  of 
the  space  between  Bologna  and  Florence  is  occupied 
by  the  mountains ;  but  the  fact  is,  that,  whatever  the 
map  may  suggest,  the  whole  is  only  the  Apennines.  In 
nature  a  chain  of  mountains  is  not  the  same  regular 
thing  as  upon  a  map:  it  spreads  itself  out  and  out; 
subsiding  ranges  falling  off  from  the  great  central  one, 
until  gradually  the  plain  is  reached.  When  the  barrier 
is  a  river,  near  the  shore  it  is  shallow,  and  in  the  middle 
deep ;  so,  when  it  is  a  mountain,  near  the  edges  it  is 
low,  and  in  the  middle  high.  By  vettiirind^  the  journey 
occupies  nearly  two  days.  At  a  short  distance  from 
the  gates  of  Bologna  you  become  engaged  in  the  hills, 
and  Avhile  you  are  upon  their  last  slopes  the  Queen  of 
the  Arno  is  delighting  your  eyes.  Our  vetturino  had  a 
young  friend  whom  he  got  or  took  permission  to  carry 
to  Florence,  so  that,  altogether,  we  made  seven  for  the 
mountains. 

The  scenes  were  of  ravines,  torrents,  ridges,  peaks, 
slopes,  steeps,  and  windings ;  the  view  now  narrowing 

*  A  coachman  who  carries  you  in  his  own  carriage  for  a  journey, 
however  long. 


208  ITALY   IX  TKANSITION. 

to  a  few  yards,  now  sweeping  over  tracts  of  mountain 
wild,  now  going  out  and  away  over  territories  where, 
deeply  down  and  distant  on  the  plain,  cities  showed 
white  like  the  curling  waves  of  the  far-off  sea.  Every 
now  and  then  two  oxen  were  yoked  before  our  five 
horses,  and  tugged  away  honestly.  Cultivation  strug- 
gled with  the  mountains.  Every  few  miles,  a  flat-roofed 
village  of  big  but  very  dirty  and  uncomfortable  houses. 
At  Pianoro  I  got  out,  went  about  the  village,  and  made 
friends  with  a  boy  in  a  smithy.  It  was  as  clean  and 
nice  as  any  smithy  I  ever  saw.  The  bellows  were  really 
grand,  made  of  oak,  with  fine  brass  nails,  and  well-pre- 
served leathers,  and  kept  cleaner  than  the  tables  in  ho- 
tels— a  gentlemanly  pair  of  big  bellows.  The  people 
generally  looked  pretty  well  fed  and  clothed,  but  they 
begged  almost  like  Neapolitans.  At  one  village  a  num- 
ber of  rosy  children  were  whining  for  "something;" 
but  one  fine  little  fellow  stood  by,  beside  his  father, 
asking  nothing.  I  called  him,  gave  him  half  a  paul, 
and  took  care  to  tell  him  that  it  was  because  he  did 
not  beg.  Oh,  what  joy !  and  the  father  seemed  as 
pleased  as  the  child.  He  cried,  "  The  signor  gives  him 
half  a  paul  because  he  asked  nothing.  Ecco !"  The 
other  men  standing  by  evidently  felt  the  rebuke,  but 
did  not  seem  to  like  it. 

The  first  time  I  got  out  to  have  a  walk,  a  decent 
mountaineer  said,  "  You  will  have  tough  work  to  cross 
the  mountain  to-day ;  it  blows  so  hard  that,  liigh  up,  it 
will  almost  upset  your  carriage.     The  last  few  days  it 


THE   APENNINES.  209 

has  been  terrible;  even  the  mails  were  stopped."  It 
did  blow ;  but  I  said  nothing  about  the  prophecy  of  an 
upset,  and  happily,  excepting  some  personal  discomfort, 
we  had  no  bad  effects  from  the  wind.  " No  brigands?" 
I  asked.  "  Oh  no,  none :  while  we  were  under  the  priests 
there  were  plenty  of  brigands,  but  since  the  Italian  gov- 
ernment came  into  power,  none." 

The  young  friend  of  the  vetturino,  as  we  tugged  up 
a  hill  together,  said,  without  being  asked,  "  You  see, 
signor,  the  effect  of  the  change  from  the  government  of 
the  priests.  This  road  used  always  to  be  dangerous, 
robberies  going  on  every  day ;  now,  none." 

The  vetturino  himself  told  one  of  the  ladies  that  the 
priests  used  to  disguise  themselves  as  brigands,  and  do 
a  little  business  on  their  own  account;  but  this  was, 
doubtless,  only  an  illuminated  edition  of  the  common 
story,  that  the  robbers  shared  spoils  with  them.  When 
the  young  man  already  alluded  to  was  saying  these  ter- 
rible things  of  the  priests,  I  reminded  him  that  he  must 
not  lay  all  their  faults  against  religion. 

"  Oh,"  he  said,  "no;  you  must  not  think  that  I  am  an 
atheist.  I  am  a  Catholic ;  but  I  can  not  profess  to  be- 
lieve all  the  things  that  they  teach  us.  There  is  a  deal 
of  nonsense  that  no  thoughtful  man  can  believe ;  but 
still  I  do  believe  in  God  and  in  Christ." 

"Then  how  do  you  account  for  it  that  there  are  so 
many  things  you  call  superstitions  and  follies,  if  you  say 
you  still  believe  ?" 

This  seemed  a  point  that  he  had  not  gone  into,  and 


210  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

he  asked  me  how  it  was.  "The  matter  is  simply  this: 
religion,  as  the  apostles  planted  it,  was  just  as  if  it  had 
been  sent  down  from  heaven ;  and  it  had  been.  It  took 
root  upon  our  earth,  a  Divine  and  beneficent  thing,  and, 
had  its  principles  been  steadily  adhered  to,  would  have 
regenerated  all  human  society.  Instead  of  that,  those 
principles  were  gradually  overlaid  with  corruptions 
adopted  from  the  old  superstitions  of  this  country  and 
other  countries.  To  this  was  added  the  invention  of 
doctrines.  By  these  two,  mark,  by  corruption  and  in- 
vention, one  change  and  another  came  in,  until  now  the 
whole  is  so  altered  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  discover 
the  original.  It  can  only  be  found  by  going  back  to 
the  Word  of  God,  and  studying,  in  the  writings  of  the 
apostles  themselves,  what  sort  of  ministers  they  were, 
and  what  the  churches  they  founded ;  and  that  is  what 
all  you  Italians  must  do." 

"  Well,  signor,"  he  said,  "  we  often  say  that  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Poi^e  is  not  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  yet  we  do  not  want  to  give  up  Jesus  Christ ;  but 
I  suppose  it  is  as  you  say,  that  things  have  been 
changed." 

"  Yes,  almost  every  thing  has  been  changed." 

"What  has  been  changed,  signor?" 

"  Worship  has  been  changed.  It  icas  a  purely  spir- 
itual worship ;  now  Christian  temples  are  full  of  images, 
and  before  these  men  and  women  are  taught  to  say 
their  prayers.  It  was  in  every  man's  own  tongue,  a 
service  of  singing,  praying,  preaching,  and  in  private 


THE   APEiraiNES.  211 

meetings  of  mutual  exhortation  and  fellowshii) ;  now  it 
is  a  mystic  ceremony  in  an  unknown  tongue.  The 
ministry  has  been  changed.  It  was  a  ministry  of  pas- 
tors and  teachers,  whose  business  it  was  to  instruct  the 
people,  and  show  them  Christian  examples  of  all  per- 
sonal and  domestic  virtues.  This  has  been  changed 
into  a  priesthood,  which  professes  to  repeat  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Son  of  God :  they  never  marry,  and  give 
themselves  out  as  constituting  an  infallible  body,  to 
whom  men  must  implicitly  submit  their  consciences." 

"  Ah  !"  he  growled,  "  that  is  a  change." 

"  The  sacraments  have  been  changed.  Of  old,  the 
very  name  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  the  breaking  of 
bread.  The  disciples  both  ate  of  the  bread  and  drank 
of  the  wine ;  now,  as  to  the  cup,  they  do  not  even  give 
it  to  the  people ;  and  as  to  the  bread,  it  is  a  wafer,  so 
made  that  it  shall  not  be  broken.  Besides  this,  they 
have  added  five  other  sacraments  to  the  two  that  were 
instituted  by  our  Lord." 

"  Dear  me,  any  thing  else  changed  ?" 

"  Yes ;  the  mode  of  finding  absolution  is  changed." 

"Ah!" 

"  In  the  days  of  the  apostles,  when  a  man  asked  what 
he  was  to  do  to  find  pardon,  he  was  told  to  repent  of 
his  sins,  and  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Now 
they  have  changed  repentance  into  doing  penance ;  and 
instead  of  telling  men  simply  to  believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  they  tell  them  to  go  in  private,  and  con- 
fess all  to  a  priest,  and  then  believe  too ;  and  the  priest 
privately  pronounces  absolution." 


212  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

"And  do  you  say  that  the  apostles  did  not  do 
that?" 

I  looked  at  him  as  calmly  as  I  could,  and  s£dd,  "  Look 
into  my  face,  and  see  if  you  can  trust  me." 

"  Yes,  signor,"  he  said,  "  I  can." 

"  Did  you  ever  read  the  New  Testament  ?" 

"  Never." 

"Well,  then,  I  have  read  it  every  word,  over  and 
over  again,  and  I  can  tell  you  that  in  it  all  there  is  not 
a  word  about  any  of  the  twelve  apostles  ever  having 
taken  a  man  to  confess  to  himself,  or  sent  him  to  con- 
fess to  any  priest  whatever,  that  he  might  obtain  the 
priest's  absolution.    There  is  no  such  word." 

"  There  is  no  such  word !  Oh  dear !  what  a  change! 
Any  thing  else  changed  ?" 

"  Yes,"  I  said, "  there  is  something  changed,  perhaps, 
that  you  would  not  think  of;  even  the  Commandments 
of  God  are  changed.  Do  you  know  the  Command- 
ments of  God?" 

"Oil  yes !"  he  said,  "  I  know  the  Commandments  ot 
God." 

"Will  you  repeat  them?" 

He  said, "  You  know  there  are  ten  Commandments 
of  God,  and  five  of  the  Church :  which  do  you  mean  ?" 

"  I  mean  the  Ten  Commandments  of  God." 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  know  them." 

"  But,  first  of  all,  will  you  tell  me  what  the  five  Com- 
mandments of  the  Church  are  ?  Which  do  you  learn 
first  in  the  Catechism  ?" 


THE   APENNINES.  213 

"  Oh !  in  the  Catechism,  we  first  learn  the  five  Com- 
mandments of  the  Chm-ch." 

"  Well,  tell  me  what  they  are." 

"1.  Hear  mass  every  Sunday,  and  on  other  appoint- 
ed feasts.  2.  Fast  on  the  days  appointed,  and  do  not 
eat  meat  on  Friday  or  Saturday.  3.  Confess  at  least 
once  in  the  year,  and  take  the  Communion  at  Easter. 
4.  Do  not  marry  in  forbidden  times.    5.  Pay  the  tithes." 

"  Then  these,"  I  said,  *'  are  the  Commandments  of 
the  Church?" 

"  Yes,  the  five  Commandments  of  the  Church." 

"  And  you  are  taught  them  before  the  others  ?" 

"  Yes ;  the  others  are  the  Ten  Commandments  of 
God." 

"  Very  well ;  what  are  they  ?" 

"  1.  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God ;  thou  shalt  have  no  oth- 
er God  before  Me.  2.  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name 
of  God  in  vain." 

I  said,  "Are  you  sure  you  are  correct?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  he  said,  "  quite  sure.     Yes." 

"  What,  then,  is  the  third  ?" 

"  Remember  that  you  keep  holy  the  feasts." 

"  Are  you  sure  you  are  right  ?" 

"Oh  yes."* 

*  The  form  of  the  second  and  third  commandments,  as  given  in 

the  Catechism,  often  varies.     It  will  be  seen  that  the  form  here  re- 

|L,     peated  is  an  abridgment  such  as  may  be  found  in  many  editions 

mL   of  the  Dottrina  Christiana,  or  Popular  Church  Catechism,  in  Italy. 

^^K  In  the  copy  now  before  me  they  stand  thus : 

I 


214  ITALY   IN   TKANSITION. 

"Then  what  is  the  fourth?" 

"  Honor  your  father  and  mother." 

"  Now,"  I  said,  "  are  you  quite  sure  you  are  right  as 
to  the  second  ?" 

"  Certainly,"  he  said ;  "  of  course,  I  don't  forget  the 
Decalogue." 

"  Well,  now,  I  have  to  tell  you  that  these  Ten  Com- 
mandments have  been  changed." 

"  What,  signer  ?  the  Commandments  of  God 
changed !" 

"Yes;  I  am  very  sorry  to  say  it,  the  Command- 
ments of  God  have  been  changed." 

"  But  is  not  the  law  of  God  unchangeable  ?" 

"The  law  of  God  is  unchangeable,  and  those  Ten 
Commandments  were  written  by  Him  with  His  own 
finger  upon  tables  of  stone,  that  men  might  know  for- 
ever that  these  laws  could  not  be  changed ;  and  that, 
however  they  might  forget  them  upon  earth,  the  hand 

"Q.  Repeat  the  Commandments  of  God  ? 

^^  A.  The  Commandments  of  God  are  ten.  1.  I  am  the  Lord 
thy  God ;  thou  shalt  have  no  other  god  before  Me.  2.  Thou  shalt 
not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain.  3.  llemember 
that  thou  keep  holy  the  feasts.  4.  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  moth- 
er. 5.  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  G.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  fornication. 
7.  Thou  shalt  not  steal.  8.  Do  not  bear  ftilse  witness.  0.  Thou 
shalt  not  covet  the  wife  of  another.  10.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  the 
goods  of  another." — Compendio  delta  Dottnna  ChHstiana  ad  Uso 
della  Citta  e  Dioccsi  di  Coiiio,  di  cut  per  ordine  di  Mons.  Vescow 
Carlo  Romano  deobono  servirsi  in  avvenire  i  Catechisti  e  Maestri 
neile  Chiese  della  Dottrina  Christiana.     Lugano,  1855. 


THE   APENNINES.  215 

of  God  would  maintain  them  to  eternity  in  heaven. 
But  still  the  priests  of  Rome  have  changed  them." 

"  But  how  ?     What  change  ?" 

"You  have  been  taught  by  them  that  the  second 
commandment  is, '  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the 
Lord  thy  God  in  vain."  Now  none  of  what  you  have 
learned  is  the  exact  words  of  any  commandment. 
They  give  you  the  substance  of  several  of  them,  and 
what  they  call  the  second  is  the  third,  and  they  have 
cut  one  commandment  clean  out  and  thrown  it  away." 

"  Oh,  signer,  you  don't  say  that.  They  would  never 
do  that,  because  they  must  know  that  they  would  be 
found  out." 

*'  They  do  know  that  they  are  found  out.  Their  own 
Bible  contains  a  commandment  which  in  the  Catechism 
is,  as  I  tell  you,  thrown  away.  And  do  you  know  what 
that  second  commandment  is  ?" 

"  No ;  I  never  heard  any  second  commandment  but 
the  one  I  have  mentioned." 

"  Then  it  is  to  the  effect  that  people  shall  not  make 
graven  images,  or  bow  down  before  them  and  worship 
them." 

"Oh,"  he  said,  "no  wonder  they  have  put  that 
away." 

Ridge  after  ridge  was  passed ;  the  wind  grew  fiercer, 
and  the  view  swept  over  a  larger  succession  of  mount- 
ains, while  the  plain  stretched  out  farther  and  farther, 
and  gradually  grew  blue,  as  we  are  wont  to  see  distant 


216  ITALY   IN   TKANSITIOX. 

hills ;  but  still  upon  its  bosom  the  cities  gleamed  in  the 
sun.  When  we  had  reached  a  very  high  elevation, 
when  the  road  wound,  the  mysteriously  distant  plain 
would  wmd  too ;  cities,  perhaps  a  day's  journey  apart, 
following  each  other  as  in  a  magic  lantern.  It  was  a 
strange  and  touching  effect,  having  in  it  something  of 
awe  and  mystery.  How  real  earth  is,  yet  how  little ! 
How  widely  separated  its  objects  when  viewed  from 
the  common  level!  how  near  together  when  viewed 
from  on  high !  And  away  yonder,  over  the  last  hills, 
beyond  and  beyond  the  utmost  edge  of  the  hazy  plain, 
and  yet  on  this  side  of  the  horizon,  shows  a  line  of 
steadier,  clearer  blue.  Certainly  it  is  not  mountain,  and 
it  looks  more  like  water  than  land.  Is  it  the  Adriatic  ? 
Yes,  the  Adriatic.  Far,  far  away,  not  gleaming  clearly, 
like  the  Dead  Sea  from  Olivet,  or  spreading  out  grand- 
ly, like  the  Mediterranean  from  Nazareth,  but  doubtful- 
ly visible,  like  a  mirage,  yet  steady  as  the  sea.  As  the 
evening  wore  on  we  passed  the  frontier,  leaving  behind 
the  old  realms  of  the  Pope,  and  entering  Tuscany.  No 
stoppage,  no  search,  no  call  for  passports.  A  shut-uj) 
Custom-house  is  a  silent  monument  of  divisions  at  an 
end.  From  Piedmont  into  Lombardy  one,  into  Parma 
two,  into  Modena  three,  into  the  Romagna  four,  into 
Tuscany  five.  Yes,  five  old  frontiers  passed  without 
even  seeing  a  soldier  or  undergoing  a  stoppage !  To  a 
traveler  unions  are  something. 

Almost  immediately  after  passing  the  frontier  appear- 
ances began  to  change;  the  fields  and  hedges  had  a 


THE  APENNTNTES.  211 

more  finished  look.  With  all  its  defects,  the  Tuscan 
government  was  very  different  from  the  papal  one. 
Still  one  would  not  have  thought  that  up  three  thou- 
sand feet  or  so  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  traces  of  this 
difference  would  appear;  but  it  is  so.  A  change  is 
traceable  in  the  better  condition  of  the  land,  the  houses, 
the  people. 

The  evening  was  falling  fast ;  the  wind  was  terribly 
high ;  the  horses  said,  "  We  are  tired,"  and,  like  Gilpin, 
I  responded,  "  So  am  I."  We  came  to  a  point  where  a 
volley  of  air  smote  the  horses  and  shook  the  carriage  ; 
but  in  a  moment  more  we  were  coursing  down  hill,  and 
down  and  down,  with  a  great  valley  widening  below, 
and  two  torrents  meeting  in  its  depth,  then  hasting 
away  to  the  Po ;  for  still  we  were  to  the  north  of  the 
water-shed  of  these  tough  Apennines. 

"That  is  the  house!"  "No!"  "That  one!"  "No, 
here."  "  No,  there ;"  as  one  house  and  another  show- 
ed itself,  and  as  one  or  another  chose  to  guess.  At  last 
it  did  come ;  Covigliajo,  the  lone  post-house,  almost  at 
the  top  of  the  Apennines ;  and  out  we  got,  right  thank- 
ful, and  gathered  up  our  multifarious  wraps,  under  the 
eyes  of  a  number  of  ofiicers  billeted  here  for  the  night. 

Much  as  one  was  impressed  with  the  distant  views 
from  the  Apennines,  I  several  times  thought  that  I  had 
never  crossed  a  great  mountain  range  which  offered  less 
beauty  to  enliven  the  grandeur  ;  but  it  is  to  be  said  that 
I  never  before  crossed  one  with  a  ranting  toothache. 
Oh,  how  pleasant  was  that  blazing  wood  fire  in  the  post- 

K 


218  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

house  at  Covigliajo,  and  rooms  looking  clean  and  smell- 
ing sweet,  and  a  civil  old  man,  whose  words  were  rather 
hard  to  understand,  because  they  came  out  from  tooth- 
less lips ;  but  this  fallen  mouth  was  to  me  just  then  a 
strong  title  to  esteem,  for  it  represented  many  a  day  of 
that  sort  of  suffering  I  had  just  been  going  through. 

"  The  mountain  air  is  so  fine,"  I  said  ;  "  but  it  seems 
to  me  not  to  be  particularly  good  for  toothache." 

The  old  man  looked  a  very  long  while.  "No,"  he 
said,  as  if  it  was  no  trifle.  Then  deepening  his  tone,  he 
repeated,  "  No ;  it  tries  it  worse  and  worse." 

How  thankful  and  cheery  we  aU  were  by  that  cosy 
fire  !  What  a  dinner  the  old  man  gave  us !  And  then 
how  the  ladies  brewed  poppy-heads,  and  tried  by  hot 
appUcations  to  charm  away  the  pain  that  had  been  tor- 
menting me  for  the  day !  And  thus,  at  this  high  part 
of  the  world,  began  my  first  experience  of  fomentations. 
But  in  spite  of  the  scalded  fingers  of  the  ladies,  and  my 
wonder  at  the  heroism  of  nm'sijag,  and  the  poppy-heads, 
and  a  good  bed,  and  fatigue,  and  mountain  air,  pain  was 
too  strong  for  sleep. 

After  four  miles  of  farther  traveling  the  next  morn- 
ing, we  reach  the  highest  point,  and  now  take  the  west- 
ward slope.  The  descent  is  rapid,  the  views  over  the 
mountains  again  grand. 

Several  times  during  the  day  the  immense  range  of 
mountains  and  the  variety  of  chains  reminded  me  for  a 
moment  of  the  scene  from  the  top  of  Serbal,  in  the  Si- 
naitic  Desert,  and  it  was  the  only  luount.'iin  scciiorv  lli.-if 


THE   APENNINES.  219 

ever  did.  Yet  there  is  no  proper  comparison  between 
the  two.  From  Serbal  the  ridges  seen  are  as'  distinct, 
and,  one  is  ready  to  say,  as  numerous,  as  the  roofs  of  the 
various  streets  of  London  seen  from  St.  Paul's.  The  ex- 
tent of  the  view  is  far  greater  than  even  that  from  the 
Apennines,  and,  strange  to  say,  though  there  is  scarcely 
a  rag  of  vegetation,  except  at  two  points,  the  variety  of 
colors  is  vastly  grander. 

We  soon  struck  ujDon  the  first  vines ;  then  they  came 
more  frequently ;  then  the  air  sensibly  grew  milder ; 
then  cultivation  began  to  cover  all  the  hills.  In  an  hour 
or  two  we  had  real  vineyards  and  numerous  villages. 
Violets  came  out ;  hepatica,  and  primrose,  and  hellebore, 
with  lilacs  budding  in  the  valleys,  told  us  that  we  were 
coming  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Vale  of  Flora.  So  it 
went  on,  growing  greener,  warmer,  and  more  flowery, 
till  the  last  spurs  of  the  mountain  were  reached,  and  the 
valley  came  into  view.  The  snow  was  nearly  off  the 
mountains,  and  the  sun  very  bright.  Long  and  far  the 
Arno  stretched  and  gleamed,  not  hiding,  like  the  Thames 
from  Richmond  Hill,  but  winding  in  the  sun  to  be  seen 
of  all.  On  we  swept,  past  hills  covered  with  olive  and 
vine,  each  plant  of  the  latter  climbing  upon  its  trusty 
mulberry,  and  the  three  together  telling  of  the  country's 
native  wealth — oil,  silk,  and  wine.  On  among  square 
white  houses,  and  convents  upon  hill-tops,  surrounded 
by  cypresses,  heavy-headed  palaces,  country  carts  so  old 
and  ugly,  and  the  people  in  their  odd  costumes,  and  the 
almond-trees  in  blossom,  and  the  pervading  olive-green. 


220  ITALY   IN   TKANSITION. 

At  last,  at  last  the  dome,  then  the  tower  of  the  Old  Pal- 
ace, and  the  glistening  bulk  of  beautiful  Florence.  All 
the  cold  of  the  mountain,  all  the  fatigue  of  the  ride  was 
forgotten.  "We  were  all  merry  as  larks,  and  even  the 
surly  face-ache  owned  the  mild  air,  and  confined  itself 
to  low  and  stifled  grumbles. 

Just  as  we  were  scouring  along  in  the  enjoyment  of 
this  scene,  the  coachman  and  his  friend  called  attention 
to  a  spectacle  at  which  they  joked.  A  man  was  leading 
a  mule,  another  man  walking  beside  it,  and  on  it  was 
seated  a  priest  in  his  white  surplice.  "  He  is  going," 
they  said,  "  to  administer  extreme  unction  to  some  one 
who  is  dying."  Ah !  they  may  ridicule  him  and  his 
offices ;  but  that  surplice  flitting  among  the  olives  rep- 
resents the  most  tremendous  power  in  this  world.  Is 
that  a  son,  or  a  husband,  or  a  father,  that  is  conducting 
him  ?  Be  it  one  or  the  other,  he  thinks  that  man  seat- 
ed on  the  mule  holds  in  his  hand  the  power  to  give  the 
soul  of  his  mother,  or  his  wife,  or  his  cliild,  its  title  to 
enter  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  lias  probably  hastened 
from  his  home  in  terror  at  the  thought  that  death  might 
arrive  before  the  priest ;  and  so  over  Irish  bogs  or  Ital- 
ian mountains,  or  other  wild  and  lonely  scenes,  men 
with  aching  hearts  often  hurry,  to  invoke  this  mysteri- 
ous talisman.  Other  priesthoods  are  content  with  hold- 
ing in  their  hands  power  over  men  in  tliis  life.  The 
Brahmin  leaves  the  soul  of  the  father,  as  far  as  it  can  be 
influenced  from  earth,  to  the  charge  of  the  son,  laying 
upon  him  the  duty  of  oflcring  the  sacrifices  that  will 


THE  APENOTNES.  221 

appease  the  manes ;  and  it  is  only  the  priests  of  Rome 
who  have  the  dread  art  of  first  shadowing  the  spirit  of 
man  with  their  hand  at  every  step  of  his  course  below, 
and  then  extending  their  power  into  the  world  to  come, 
so  that  his  welfare  there  depends  again  upon  their  in- 
tervention. Thus,  over  sui-vivors,  they  hold  the  double 
influence  of  conveying  their  own  absolution,  and,  yet 
more  tremendous,  of  directly  controlling  that  of  their 
departed  kindred!  The  art  of  selling  for  money  re- 
demption for  the  dead  is  all  their  own.  Do  not  laugh 
at  that  peasant  and  that  priest;  the  spectacle  has  too 
deep  a  meaning  for  that ! 

How  would  it  read  in  apostolic  writing  that  a  dis- 
ciple from  Bethany  had  hastened  into  Jerusalem  with 
his  ass  to  carry  out  Peter  in  haste  to  give  the  last  sacra- 
ment to  his  mother,  that  she  might  die  absolved  ?  The 
son  would  have  hailed  the  presence  of  Peter  as  an  ad- 
ditional light  in  the  sick-room ;  but,  with  it  or  without 
it,  he  and  his  mother  would  have  parted  rejoicing  in 
hope  of  the  glory  of  God. 


FLORENCE 

AT  THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  PRINCE 

OF  CARIGMNO;  AO  ALSO  AT  THE  RECEPTION 

OF  VICTOR  EMMANUEL. 


We  passed  the  beautiful  gate,  the  Porta  di  Gallo,  and 
here,  for  the  first  thne  since  landing  at  Boulogne,  our 
passports  were  asked  for.  This,  then,  is  a  token  of  the 
Tuscan  autonomy;  but  they  are  only  looked  at.  On 
we  go  by  the  Piazza  S.  Marco,  on  by  the  grand  old 
Cathedral,  with  its  rows  of  parti-colored  marble  and 
superb  tower  of  the  same,  and  its  fagade  as  bald  as  any 
gable  in  England. 

Are  we  in  for  2i.fete  again  ?  At  Turin,  ihQfete  of  the 
annexation  and  the  king's  birthday ;  at  Milan,  the  anni- 
versary of  the  five  days ;  at  Parma,  the  first  entry  of 
Piedmontese  cavalry ;  at  Bologna,  the  general  election ; 
and  here,  at  Florence,  what  can  there  be  ?  Banners ! 
banners !  banners !  it  must  be  2ifete  too.  As  we  turned 
into  the  little  square  by  the  Arno,  just  before  the  "  New 
York"  Hotel,  the  head  of  a  Piedmontese  column  was 
winding  round  the  corner  amid  flags,  and  music,  and 
bouquets,  and  branches,  and  all  tokens  of  interest.  "A 
fete  to-day  ?"  I  said  to  the  master  of  the  hotel.  "  Yes ; 
the  troops  are  coming  in  to-day,  and  to-morrow  the 
prince."  "  "What  prince  ?"  "  Of  Carignano,  who  is 
coming  as  Lieutenant  of  Tuscany,  in  the  king's  place ; 
K2 


226  ITALY   IN  TEANSinON. 

and  the  king  himself  will  come  next  month,  after  he  has 
opened  the  Parhament."  The  next  morning  the  city 
was  all  astir;  every  street  running  over  with  people, 
and  every  window  streaming  with  flags.  As  to  the 
tone  of  conversation,  it  was  just  the  same  as  elsewhere; 
with  this  great  advantage,  that,  instead  of  speaking  a 
dialect,  the  people  speak  ItaUan,  so  that  a  foreigner  has 
a  much  better  chance  of  understanding  and  being  un- 
derstood. Between  two  and  three  o'clock  I  was  chat- 
ting with  the  people  in  the  street  directly  before  the 
hotel,  when  a  movement  showed  that  the  procession 
was  coming,  and  much  nearer  than  I  had  any  idea  of. 
Paying  for  a  stand  on  a  bench,  I  jumped  up.  In  a  few 
minutes  came  a  resplendent  show  of  silken  banners,  red, 
white,  and  green,  all  carried  by  working-men,  yet  not 
one  of  cotton  or  stuff  was  there.  The  never-forgotten 
flag  in  crape,  borne  by  Venetians,  passed  amid  special 
tokens  of  emotion.  As  to  dress,  the  men  were  a  cross 
between  a  London  and  a  Paris  crowd ;  they  had  not 
the  broadcloth  coats  or  the  black  hats  of  the  former,  but 
they  had  not  the  blouse  and  cap  of  Paris.  It  Avas  gen- 
erally some  sort  of  coarse  woolen  coat  and  felt  hat. 
They  were  not  so  clean  as  a  body  of  London  working- 
men,  nor  so  intelUgent-looking,  but  more  polite,  and  as 
orderly  as  any  men  in  this  world  could  be.  Immedi- 
ately after  this  array  of  the  workmen  came  the  royal 
carriage,  with  the  Prince  of  Carignano — a  fine-looking 
man,  apparently  about  forty,  in  a  splendid  uniform. 
Bouquets  poured  down  upon  him  from  every  window 


FLOEENCE.  227 

in  an  overwhelming  shower.  Loud  clapping  greeted 
him  every  where;  and  now  and  then  the  crowd  burst 
into  a  cheer,  at  one  or  two  points  almost  rising  to  an 
English  "  huzza." 

As  soon  as  he  had  passed  I  made  my  way  round  by 
a  back  street  to  our  party  at  the  hotel.  Here  the  view 
embraced  the  square,  densely  crowded  with  human 
heads,  the  narrow  street  before  gleaming  with  banners 
to  the  highest  story  of  every  house,  the  stately  proces- 
sion of  marching  tri-colors,  each  with  its  silken  sheen  in 
the  joyful  light  of  Florence.  What  peals  of  enthusiasm 
as  the  prince  turned  into  the  square !  How  the  bou- 
quets competed  for  a  touch  of  the  carriage,  and  fell  on 
each  side  and  jostled  one  another ;  now  and  then  one, 
happier  than  the  rest,  actually  reaching  his  head.  His 
bows  had  less  of  the  man  and  more  of  the  prince  than 
one  liked. 

After  he  had  passed,  following  the  stream  across  the 
bridge,  I  soon  became  aware  that  they  were  making  by 
a  short  cut  for  the  "  Pitti  Palace,"  to  greet  him  there. 
What  a  strange  and  grand  old  pile  it  is!  —  Quaker- 
brown  stones  clumped  together  in  huge  layers,  with 
lower  windows  caged  in  by  iron  gratings  to  the  very 
top,  as  if  security  had  never  passed  within  that  princely 
threshold.  The  square  before  the  palace  was  still  but 
half  filled.  Seeing  one  of  the  doors  open,  I  gradually 
worked  my  way  to  it.  Gentlemen  and  ladies  entered, 
and  soon  reappeared  among  the  parties  on  the  roof  of 
the  two  wings.    Talking  a  little  with  the  sober  old  offi- 


228  ITALY   IN  TEANSITION. 

cial  in  charge  of  the  door,  I  said,  "  I  suppose  there  is  no 
getting  up  to  the  roof."  "  Walk  in,  signor,"  he  replied, 
without  a  single  sign  of  the  "  give  me  a  paul"  look  with 
which  one  is  so  familiar.  So  in  I  went,  and  up  the 
stairs,  and  got  lost  here,  and  into  a  bedroom  there,  and 
into  a  sitting-room  full  of  officers  elsewhere,  and  at  last 
on  to  the  roof  of  one  of  the  Avings  in  good  time.  There 
was  a  sight ! — the  square,  filled  till  heads  were  thick  as 
paving-stones.  From  the  central  doors,  sweeping  down 
in  a  curve  to  the  street,  was  an  avenue  about  fifty  yards 
wide,  lined  with  National  Guards,  not  a  soldier  to  be 
seen.  The  packed  and  throbbing  masses,  the  windows 
of  the  houses  piled  with  faces  and  blazing  with  flags, 
the  wings  of  the  palace  crowded,  its  stern  front  with  all 
the  windows  closed,  and  below,  every  spot,  even  to  the 
grating  of  the  windows,  with  a  human  beiijg  fastened  to 
it,  and  the  living  avenue  of  sky-blue  and  red,  with  its 
files  of  steel  gleaming  in  such  a  sun  as  was  then  above 
us,  did  form  a  dazzling  and  inimitable  whole. 

The  drums  beat,  and  the  Guards  stand  to  arras ;  the 
bells  ring,  but  they  are  poor  bells  compared  with  the 
eye-beauties  of  the  place;  and  at  last  the  word  '-'•Ecco! 
Ecco  !  See !  See !"  runs  through  the  crowd.  It  is  the 
first  silk  banner,  and  the  next,  and  the  next ;  and  on, 
and  on,  the  workmen  come,  bearing  them,  not  into  the 
avenue  of  Guards,  but  behind  them,  among  the  crowd, 
which  by  some  magic  or  other  does  let  them  through. 
Up  they  work  to  the  palace  front,  and  line  the  inner 
edge  of  the  military  with  such  a  glory  of  color  and 


FLOEENCE.  229 

sheen  as  these  eyes  never  saw.  "  See  !  see !  see  him !" 
— it  is  the  carriage  slowly  struggling  along  through  the 
crowd,  not  a  step  at  a  time,  but  half  a  step ;  coming 
down  that  fearfully  narrow  street  that  lies  between  the 
Palace  of  the  Medici  and  the  quaint  old  bridge  of  Flor- 
ence, on  which  one  might  meditate  for  days,  thinking 
of  all  the  old  stories  of  bridges  with  houses  upon  them 
that  one  has  read  as  to  London  and  other  cities. 

The  moment  the  carriage  is  disengaged  from  the 
dense  crowd,  it  dashes  forward,  the  arms  of  the  iNTation- 
al  Guard  rising  to  the  salute,  and  flashing  again.  Ev- 
ery hand  in  that  great  crowd  is  clapped,  every  voice 
lifted  up,  and  flags  and  pocket-handkerchiefs  show  joy 
in  every  form.  He  is  gone  in  under  the  palace  porch, 
to  reappear  after  a  while  on  the  balcony  and  make  his 
bow. 

Before  this  was  done  the  patience  of  the  people  be- 
gan to  be  exhausted.  They  had  to  call  for  him  again 
and  again  ;  and  a  neighbor  of  mine,  first  in  Italian,  then 
in  very  bad  French,  and  then  with  a  good  Irish  accent, 
expressed  his  great  indignation  at  his  not  coming  out 
to.  show  himself.  During  the  delay  the  National  Guard 
filed  ofl".  Every  thing  like  a  weapon  had  disappeared. 
All  around  the  palace  was  nothing  but  the  great  crowd 
of  human  beings.  They  raised  one  shout  more — "  The 
prince  outside !  The  prince  to  the  balcony !  Let  the 
prince  show  his  countenance!" — when  one  of  the  shut- 
ters— for  all  the  windows  of  the  palace  were  closed — 
was  drawn  open,  and  out  came  the  prince,  without  a 


230  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

guard  behind  or  a  guard  before,  safe  and  strong  in  the 
midst  of  a  multitude.  Then  the  enthusiasm  became  in- 
credible. Even  the  heavy  flags  waved  like  ribbons ; 
and  as  for  the  pocket  handkerchiefs,  they  fairly  lost 
their  senses.  I  had  seen  the  fete  de  la  Fraternite  in 
Paris,  and  many  others  there ;  the  great  doings  at  Mi- 
lan the  other  day,  and,  of  course,  many  national  festivi- 
ties in  London :  things  on  a  greater  scale  often ;  but  for 
grace,  beauty,  and  feeling,  for  the  gratification  of  the 
senses,  and  for  hope  that  good  results  were  coming,  I 
never  saw  the  equal  of  this,  before  that  grand  but  sus- 
picious-looking old  palace. 

As  one  looked  down  in  the  intervals  of  action,  how 
impressive  was  that  mass  of  heads — human  heads,  each 
inclosing  its  own  invisible  world  of  passions,  cares,  and 
secrets;  each  having  its  account  open  wjth  eternity; 
each  its  sins  and  coming  judgment !  Poor  heads!  toss- 
ing and  waving,  and  burning  with  zeal  for  a  great 
movement — ^may  God  send  grace  upon  them!  Theyj 
seem  possessed  only  with  patriotic  thoughts — thoughts 
so  far  right,  even  laudable.  But  He  who  is  making 
that  sun  pour  rays  on  every  single  head,  can  easily  send 
beams  of  light  to  shine  within,  and  open  up  new  glories 
to  the  view  and  efforts  of  their  souls.  Oh  for  an  effu- 
sion of  God's  own  Spirit  upon  this  multitude !  Surely 
my  prayer  was  not  the  only  one  to  that  effect  which 
went  up  there. 

In  one  of  the  first  visits  paid  after  this  exciting  scene, 


FLOEENCE.  231 

I  met  a  poor  man  who  had  been  ill  and  suffering.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  Florentines  who,  through  the 
reading  of  the  Bible,  had  become  convinced  that  the 
Church  of  Rome  did  not  represent  the  religion  there 
taught,  and  who  consequently  had  drawn  upon  them- 
selves first  the  susiDicion,  and  then  the  severity  of  the 
government.  Count  Guicciardini  had  been  one  who 
shared  with  this  jDOor  man  in  the  same  studies  at  the 
fountain  of  Christianity,  in  the  same  resulting  convic- 
tions, and  finally  in  dangers  and  sufferings.  One  day, 
at  a  little  meeting  in  a  private  house,  the  police  came 
upon  them ;  seven  men  were  seized,  thrown  into  prison, 
and  sentenced  to  six  months'  confinement  in  the  Ma- 
remma.  This  last  word  intimates  a  punishment  which 
it  is  impossible  to  describe,  being  exposure  to  death 
without  a  sentence  of  execution.  The  Maremma  means 
a  malarious  district,  where  every  one,  and  especially 
those  not  inured  to  it,  are  exposed  to  fever;  and  a 
prison  placed  here  is  considered  a  convenient  plan  for 
getting  rid  of  people  whom  it  would  not  be  becoming 
to  hang.  However,  they  were  not  left  in  the  Marem- 
ma, but  were  finally  exiled.  These  persecutions  had 
been  continued  from  time  to  time ;  the  one  case  which 
attracted  most  attention  in  England,  not  being  that  of 
the  count,  but  the  humble  Madiai.  By  degrees,  how- 
ever. Bibles  found  their  way  in  the  pocket  of  one  and 
another,  quietly  and  stealthily,  as  if  crimes  and  dangers 
lurked  under  the  cover  of  the  Book ;  and  in  the  same 
way  that  the  Reformation  took  its  rise  in  England,  by 


232  ITAI.Y  IN  TRANSITION. 

the  reading  of  the  "Word  of  God  in  private  first  among 
individuals,  then  little  knots  of  people,  so  it  has  been 
taking  its  rise  in  Florence,  and  some  other  parts  of 
Tuscany.  The  converts  resulting  from  it  have  been 
justly  described  as  *' children  of  the  incorruptible  seed." 
This  is  not  the  result  of  organization,  but  just  the  quiet 
influence  of  a  few  private  Christians,  united  to  study 
that  Book,  which  to  the  careless  man  is  mysterious  and 
dull. 

In  one  of  my  visits,  at  the  top  of  a  great  number  of 
stairs,  I  found  a  fine  old  woman,  with  a  fair,  happy, 
Christian  countenance.  In  a  Methodist. circle  in  York- 
shire she  would  have  been  called  a  "  mother  in  Israel." 
She  had  clear  \dews  of  scriptural  truth,  and  had  an  open 
eye  to  public  movements.  As  Lord  Normanby's  state- 
ments in  the  House  of  Lords  had  made  some  noise  in 
England,  it  occurred  to  me  to  learn  what  this  old  lady 
would  say  about  them.  She  afiirmed  that  all  his  state- 
ments about  disorders  and  acts  of  violence  were  positive- 
ly false.  As  to  Giuseppe  Dolfi,  the  baker,  whom  he  set 
up  to  the  Lords  for  abhorrence,  she  said  he  was  the  one 
most  worthy  man  of  the  lower  classes — a  man  who  had 
spent  a  fortune  for  the  public  good.  Presently  in  came 
a  short  country  lad :  "  There  is  another  brother,"  she 
said  with  a  smile,  and  then  pointing  to  me,  "  That  is  a 
Christian  brother  from  England."  I  held  out  my  hand 
cordially,  but  my  new  brother  planted  a  kiss  of  peace 
upon  my  cheek.  At  present  there  are  three  Italian 
Protestant  congregations  worshipmg  in  Florence.     One 


FLOEENCE.  233 

is  connected  with  the  Vaudois  Church,  where  the  Gos- 
pel is  simply  but  efficiently  preached  to  an  assembly  of 
intelligent  and  respectable-looking  people;  the  other 
two  both  seem  more  numerous.  In  one  of  them  I  heard 
a  converted  priest,  a  simple,  but  good  man,  who  affec- 
tionately urged  Christian  truths  upon  the  attention  of 
the  people,  and  that  with  considerable  moral  power. 
The  body  to  which  he  is  attached  assemble  on  the 
banks  of  the  Arno,  in  a  private  room,  for  which  they 
are  far  too  numerous,  and  ought  at  once  to  have  a  large 
and  regular  place  of  worship.  The  other  congregation 
meet  in  the  Piazza  Barbano ;  and  their  singing,  unlike 
that  in  most  Protestant  congregations  on  the  Conti- 
nent, would  give  one  an  unpression  of  something  more 
than  a  pensive  solemnity.  They  did  sing,  throwing 
heart  and  soul  into  it,  and  making  the  place  ring. 
These  different  congregations  are  evidently  going  for- 
ward, and  contain  many  persons  of  zeal,  and  of  worthy 
Christian  life.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  they  at- 
tach considerable  importance  to  difference  of  views  ex- 
isting among  themselves  as  to  forms  of  Church  govern- 
ment. Surely  there  can  be  no  need  for  Italian  Chris- 
tians to  settle  all  questions  of  that  kind  at  once ;  and  if 
diversities  of  view  exist,  what  harm  can  be  in  that, 
provided  only  that  they  are  not  magnified  into  cause 
of  alienation  ?  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Congrega- 
tionalists,  Plymouth  Brethren,  Methodists,  be  they  what 
they  may,  all  preach  the  same  Gospel,  differing  only  in 
subordinate  points;  all  enforce  the  same  principles  of 


234  ITALY  IN  TEANSITION. 

worship,  differing  only  in  forms.  And  surely  the  time 
has  come  when  Christians  may  give  up  all  claims  to  in- 
falUbility,  and  believe  that  divergence  from  their  own 
views  does  not  necessarily  constitute  even  a  divergence 
from  the  truth,  much  less  an  opposition  to  it. 

It  was  expected  at  the  late  revolution  that  perfect 
religious  liberty  would  be  accorded,  and  much  was 
gained;  but  the  new  government  has  shown  itself 
nervous  upon  this  subject.  The  priests  have  threaten- 
ed, and  the  statesmen  have  either  been  afraid  or  pro- 
fessed to  be  so.  When  a  gentleman  arrived  with  a  few 
boxes  containing  Bibles,  the  priest  who  still  held  office 
at  the  Custom-house  as  guardian  of  the  purity  of  the 
country  cried  out  in  horror  at  the  sight,  "What  is 
going  to  happen  to  Tuscany  ?"  And  Eicasoli,  if  he  did 
not  share  the  spiritual  alarm  of  the  worthy  father,  felt 
another  kind  of  fear,  and  prohibited  the  Bibles,  as  if 
they  really  had  been  dangerous.  Much  allowance 
should  be  made  for  timidity  in  such  circumstances, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  we  know  that  it  is  one  of  those 
points  which  the  strong  word  of  a  strong  man  would 
have  settled  at  once  and  forever.  Had  Ricasoli  but 
said  to  that  priest,  as  the  public  professions  of  himself 
and  his  colleagues  had  pledged  him  to  do,  "  The  con- 
science of  man  is  free  in  Tuscany,  and  the  Bible  is  a  free 
book!"  that  would  have  become  a  law  against  which 
the  priests  could  not  stand  up.  There  is  a  power  in 
the  assertion  of  sacred  principles  which  strengthens 
even  a  weak  government. 


FLOEENCE.  235 

Not  only  did  the  interim  Tuscan  government  permit 
the  exclusion  of  the  Bible,  but  it  permitted  several  acts 
of  coquetting  with  the  liberty  of  the  congregations  in 
the  town;  and  when  Gavazzi  arrived,  expecting  that, 
in  a  free  country,  he  could  stand  up  and  preach,  he  was 
held  under  restraint ;  not  thrown  into  prison  or  driven 
away,  as  he  would  have  been  at  Naples  or  Rome, 
but  as  effectually  debarred  from  lifting  up  his  voice 
in  public* 

Again,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  local  officials 
were  allowed  to  close  meetings  with  violence  and  per- 
secution ;  and,  most  of  all,  the  authorities  of  the  great 
city  of  Leghorn,  pouncing,  not  upon  an  unknown  evan- 
gelist, but  upon  services  formally  organized  by  the 
Vaudois  Church,  which  is  acknowledged  by  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country,  put  a  stop  to  them  by  force,  and 
followed  up  the  blow  by  formal  decisions,  which  read 
as  a  severe,  not  to  say  incredible  satire  upon  the  profes- 
sions of  respect  for  liberty  of  religion,  and  liberty  in 
general,  made  by  the  Tuscan  government. 

Such  acts,  being  pemiitted  at  first,  involve  great  dan- 
ger for  the  time  to  come.  It  is,  however,  to  be  said  on 
behalf  of  this  government  that  it  has  secured  to  the 
struggling  Protestants  one  or  two  necessaries  of  exist- 
ence. One  who  died  at  Pontedera,  a  town  between 
Florence   and  Leghorn,  and  could  not  there   obtain 

*  "While  this  is  passing  through  the  press,  I  am  thankful  to  learn 
that  his  mighty  voice  is  lifted  up  at  last.  May  God  lead  and  pros- 
per him  ! 


236  ITALY  IN  TKANSITION. 

burial,  was  allowed  by  the  government  to  be  brought 
to  Florence,  and  there  decently  interred  by  his  Chris- 
tian brethren.  Thus  far  tolerance  to  the  dead.  In  an- 
other case,  permission  was  given  to  parties  married  as 
Protestants  to  have  their  union  formally  entered  upon 
the  public  register;  and  thus  began  in  Tuscany  toler- 
ance to  families.  Again,  permission  has  been  obtained 
to  establish  a  Protestant  school,  the  first,  it  is  supposed, 
which  ever  existed  in  Central  Italy,  in  which  the  Bible 
forms  part  of  the  course  of  instruction.  Great  difficul- 
ties were  thrown  in  the  way.  The  woman  who  let  the 
rooms  for  the  school  has  received  notice  to  remove 
from  her  landlady,  the  widow  of  one  of  the  most  cele- 
brated Tuscan  noblemen  on  the  Liberal  side.  The 
magistrate  of  the  district  had  all  the  j)arents  of  the 
children  summoned  before  him ;  but  when  he  learned 
from  them  that  they  perfectly  knew  what  sort  of  a 
school  it  was,  and  were  prepared  to  take  all  the  respons- 
ibihty  of  sending  their  children  there,  he  gave  it  his 
unquaUfied  sanction.  It  is  therefore  proceeding ;  and, 
though  not  numerously  attended,  is  a  beginning  such 
as  they  who  are  specially  connected  with  it  may  well 
rejoice  in. 

It  seems  very  strange  that  at  this  day,  and  so  near 
home,  we  should  be  struggling  for  little  scraps  of  re- 
ligious liberty  in  points  on  which  it  is  enjoyed  by  Chris- 
tians among  the  Kaffirs  and  Hindoos,  and  even  the 
Fijians ;  but  the  hard  hand  of  Rome  has  consolidated 
European  intolerance. 


FLOEENCE.  237 

One  day,  at  the  table  cVhote  in  Florence,  I  was  seated 
beside  a  party  of  bearded  Italians.  Most  Italians  are 
grave ;  these  seemed  deeply  so.  I  crept  into  talk  with 
my  next  neighbor,  a  silent  and  depressed  man.  To 
every  allusion  to  the  state  of  things  in  Italy  he  replied 
with  a  sigh.  Perhaps  he  was  a  friend  of  fallen  or  of 
falling  interests?  It  came  out  that  he  was  a  Roman 
(the  whole  party  were  so),  and  his  heart  was  sore.  He 
could  be  got  to  say  little  of  the  state  of  things.  Was 
not  the  Pope  a  worthy  old  man  ?  He  shut  his  mouth 
desperately  hard;  then  he  just  let  slide  out  of  it,  "Not 
so  bad  as  some — a  child ;  an  old  child ;  but  still  a 
child ;  not  fit  for  any  public  post ;  full  of  vainglory." 
After  a  while  he  warmed  a  little,  and  said,  "  What  is 
to  become  of  us  in  Rome  we  don't  know.  Lately  it 
has  been  seriously  said  that  even  France  had  consented 
that  we  should  be  ceded  to  Naples."  How  his  black 
Roman  eyes  hooked  into  one  as  he  uttered  this !  We 
then  went  fully  into  the  question  of  the  relation  of  the 
Pope  and  Popery  to  the  religion  of  Christ.  He  knew 
little,^but  wanted  to  know.  What  a  look  he  shot  out 
of  those  black  eyes  when  told  that  even  the  Decalogue 
had  been  changed!  He  still  held  by  the  distinction 
between  temporal  and  spiritual  power,  but  was  not  pre- 
pared with  any  reason  for  believing  that  the  spiritual 
j)ower  could  be  acknowledged,  as  the  Pope  claimed  it, 
without  laying  the  foundation  of  all  kinds  of  temporal 
despotism.  "  Certain  it  is,"  he  says,  "  that  the  Popes 
have  been  Italy's  plague,  and  its  plague  they  must  be 


238  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

as  long  as  they  have  an  existence  in  it.  Whatever 
becomes  of  the  Pope,  he  shall  not  stay  in  Italy ;  that  is 
certain.  He  may  go  to  Jerusalem  or  to  Antioch,  where 
the  Church  took  its  rise.  Those  zealous  Catholics  who 
think  it  necessary  that  he  should  be  a  king  may  go 
with  him ;  they  may  conquer  a  kingdom  for  him,  and 
we  shall  all  join  to  guarantee  that  kingdom  so  con- 
quered." 

From  this  conversation  I  went  directly  to  a  little 
evangelical  meeting  on  the  banks  of  the  Arno.  The 
room  would  hold  more  than  a  hundred,  and  it  was  full. 
They  stood  to  pray,  and  they  sat  to  sing,  and  did  it 
heavily.  What  a  difference  between  their  singing  and 
that  of  a  knot  of  peasants  yesterday  in  a  cafe.  They 
sang  words  one  could  not  catch,  except  "Italy,"  "free," 
"  one,"  "  strong,"  "  one  from  Mont  Cenis  to — ,"  I  could 
not  tell.  It  was  a  song  of  deliverance,  union,  battle, 
and  hope.  They  felt  it ;  and  the  music,  and  the  time, 
and  the  movement,  all  was  in  accordance  with  their 
feeling.  One  could  have  marched  to  battle  while  listen- 
ing to  them.  Now  is  not  the  work  of  the  Church  a  de- 
liverance, a  union,  a  battle?  and  are  we  to  have  no 
spirit-stirring  song  ?  But  if  the  singing  was  dull,  the 
place  was  thronged,  and  the  preaching  good.  The  pas- 
sage of  Scripture  commented  upon  was  the  second 
chapter  of  Acts.  A  clear  statement  was  given  of  the 
character  of  Christianity  as  therein  displayed,  and  ev- 
ery now  and  then  the  contrast  between  it  and  what  ex- 
isted under  the  eyes  of  the  people  was  given  in  Ian- 


FLOEEXCE.  239 

guage  free  from  bitterness,  but  keen  and  telling.  For 
instance,  the  apostolic  reply  to  those  who  asked,  "What 
must  we  do?"  as  contrasting  with  the  conduct  of  a 
man  who  would  tell  you  to  place  yourself  under  his 
spiritual  direction,  and  he  would  take  the  responsibility 
of  your  soul,  was  put  so  shrewdly  as  to  provoke  broad 
smiles. 

In  all  the  preaching  I  heard  among  the  Italians  one 
thing  was  very  plain :  they  united  the  two  great  points, 
salvation  by  grace  and  the  duty  of  holy  living.  There 
was  no  obscurity  on  either  hand.  The  pure  mercy  of 
God  as  the  only  fountain,  the  obedient  life  as  the  only 
CAddence,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  as  the  meritorious  medi- 
um of  the  one,  the  perfect  example  of  the  other,  were 
ever  kept  in  view;  and  where  people  will  fully  main- 
tain these  essentials,  one  need  care  comparatively  little 
about  minor  though  not  unimportant  opinions.  In  con- 
versation with  one  of  the  evangelists,  as  they  are  called, 
I  found  that  our  views  on  Church  matters  converged 
and  diverged  oddly  enough.  Somehow  we  came  upon 
the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans.  He  at  once  declared 
against  this  being  the  type  of  a  normal  Christian.  Mis- 
understanding some  objection  I  took  to  one  of  his 
phrases  as  being  directed  against  his  general  opinion, 
he  went  oif  with  great  zeal  to  demonstrate  that  the 
grace  of  God  did  make  us  free,  did  enable  us  to  over- 
come evil,  to  walk  in  newness  of  life,  and  to  do  the  will 
of  our  heavenly  Father  with  a  sense  of  His  favor  and 
approval.     When  he  found  that  I  was  quite  as  far  as  he 


240  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

from  believing  that  the  seventh  chapter  of  Romans  .de- 
scribes the  state  of  grace  into  which  the  Christian  is 
called,  and  took  him  into  the  eighth  as  the  happy  se- 
quel, and  amplified  his  own  proofs  of  his  position,  he 
wondered  and  was  pleased. 

When  we  next  returned  to  Florence  the  whole  town 
was  on  tiptoe,  expecting  an  event  such  as  had  never  oc- 
curred before  in  the  long  history  of  the  city.  Old  as  it 
is,  and  full  of  illustrious  recollections,  with  names  bril- 
liant in  every  department  of  history,  still  it  had  never 
welcomed  its  own  Italian  king.  "With  princes  it  had 
long  been  familiar,  and  has  no  record  of  the  time  when 
it  was  not  head  of  the  Tuscan  state ;  but  a  king,  an  Ital- 
ian king,  was  coming  now.  The  pride  of  being  a  capital 
which  had  so  long  lived  in  Florence,  and  which  the 
most  thoughtful  men  supposed  to  be  so  deeply  rooted 
among  the  people  that  no  consideration  would  induce 
them  to  agree  to  incorporation  in  a  kingdom  of  Avhich 
Florence  was  not  the  queen,  had  now  given  way  under 
that  wonderful  impulse  to  national  union  which  seems 
to  have  gone  through  the  very  nature  of  the  Italians. 
"  God  has  made  our  country  to  be  one,  and  marked  His 
purpose  by  seas  and  mountains :  human  schemers  have 
too  long  successfully  labored  to  defeat  the  design  of 
Providence ;  but  the  day  of  deliverance  is  come,  and 
Italy  shall  be  One."  This  is  the  ruling  thought  of  ev- 
ery generous  and  ardent  man  in  the  country. 

When  the  day  arrived,  it  really  seemed  as  if  all  Tiis- 


FLOEENCE.  241 

cany  had  emptied  itself  into  the  streets  of  the  gay  little 
town.  IN'aiTow,  queer,  winding  old  streets  they  are. 
You  hardly  know  why,  in  going  through  Florence,  you 
feel  so  pleased.  Such  a  town  in  the  moist  and  smoky 
air  of  England  would  be  very  dull,  and  soon  very,  very 
ugly.  The  quays  along  the  Arno  are  beautiful.  Every 
spot  of  the  town  is  interesting ;  many  are  picturesque, 
and  a  few  may  be  called  pretty.  The  view  from  the 
Boboli  Gardens,  where  you  command  the  whole  city 
and  the  surrounding  valley,  is  one  the  grandeur  and  the 
beauty  of  which  no  human  words  will  ever  convey  to 
any  mind.  What  with  flowers,  and  shrubs,  and  trees, 
and  statues,  and  palaces,  and  towers,  and  domes — what 
with  the  gleaming  river,  and  the  vineyards,  and  olive- 
yards,  and  endless  blossoms,  and  all  beautiful  things — 
what  with  the  lower  hills  and  swelling  mountains,  and 
the  great  snowy  Apennines,  it  is  something  that  no 
one  will  ever  describe  or  paint.  But,  after  all,  it  is  the 
light  and  air  which  makes  the  pleasure  of  the  place. 
Steep  all  this  in  a  humid  atmosphere,  brown  it  with 
smoke,  cover  it  with  clouds,  and  you  will  dim  every  ob- 
ject, lower  the  Si3irits,  and  reduce  the  vivacity  of  the  eye. 
The  air  has  something  in  it  so  soft  as  to  make  you 
well  pleased  with  every  thing.  In  winter,  as  all  over 
Italy,  there  is  a  breath  of  snow  from  the  mountains,  and 
far  into  spring  more  or  less  of  this  cooling  influence  is 
to  be  felt ;  but  when  the  sun  is  strong  enough  to  pro- 
duce a  genial  warmth,  the  united  efiect  of  the  two  is 
something  very  peculiar.    Although  the  favorite  drive 

L 


242  ITALY   IN   TRANSITIOX. 

of  Florence,  the  Cascine,  for  extent,  undulation  of  the 
ground,  size  of  the  timber,  or  any  other  natural  advant- 
age, is  not  to  be  named  in  comparison  with  Kensington 
Gardens,  a  witchery  is  exerted  upon  your  eye  and  your 
spirits  which  makes  you  think  that  it  is  more  beautiful 
than  any  thing  in  London. 

Turn  wherever  one  would  in  this  city  on  the  day 
of  the  king's  arrival,  it  was  crowds,  crowds,  crowds. 
Townspeople,  country  people,  men  and  women  in  the 
quaint  costumes  of  their  villages,  or  in  the  convention- 
al dress  of  Europe,  but  all  polite,  all  orderly,  as  if  they 
were  in  a  drawing-room.  The  preparations  were  on  a 
scale  of  elegance  and  grandeur  united.  At  a  few  yards' 
distance  the  triumphal  arches  would  look  like  buildings 
that  had  stood  for  years ;  all  of  them  good  in  design, 
some  of  them  rich  and  beautiful.  Eyes  that  would  pass 
the  marble  arch  at  Ilyde  Park  Corner  with  little  atten- 
tion, would  have  been  fixed  by  some  of  them.  It  was 
almost  impossible  to  persuade  one's  self  that  all  this 
was  done  by  a  few  planks,  hurriedly  put  together,  and 
made  to  look  like  stone.  One  column,  bearing  a  statue 
of  the  king,  in  the  Piazza  Santa  Maria  Novella,  erected 
by  a  private  gentleman,  a  Jew,  was  said  to  have  cost 
£4000.  The  decorations  at  the  railway  station,  where 
the  king  was  to  arrive,  were  enchanting.  The  avenue 
of  tri-color  flags  flying  on  high,  the  intervening  festoons 
of  bay-leaves  scenting  the  air  far  around ;  the  flowers, 
especially  the  camellia,  red  and  white,  mingling  with  the 
bay,  and  giving  at  once  the  national  tri-color,  a  compli- 


PLOEENCE.  243 

ment  to  the  king  as  a  victor,  and  to  Cavour  as  the  sym- 
bol of  his  own  name,  made  a  combination  for  the  senses 
and  the  imagination  not  to  be  forgotten.  In  one  of  the 
streets — that  leading  direct  from  the  Cathedral  to  the 
Old  Palace — at  every  few  yards  was  raised  an  artificial 
tree ;  not  a  little  bush,  but  a  stately  tree,  covered  thick 
with  camellias ;  the  most  extraordinary  piece  of  street 
decoration  I  ever  saw. 

When  the  hour  for  the  king's  arrival  drew  nigh,  the 
square  in  front  of  the  New  York  Hotel  was  dense  with 
heads.  It  was  known  that  upon  his  arrival  at  the  rail- 
way station  cannon  would  be  fired.  Just  about  the  an- 
ticipated time  a  thud  went  through  the  crowd.  Every 
hand  clapped,  every  voice  was  lifted  up,  and,  to  any  one 
who  knows  the  gravity  of  those  Itahans,  it  was  strange 
to  see  great  men,  dark  and  tall,  springing  up  in  the  air 
as  you  might  expect  French  urchins  to  do. 

The  feeling  on  the  day  when  her  majesty  first  visited 
the  city  of  London  was  warm  and  lively,  combining 
veneration  for  an  ancient  monarchy  with  interest  in  a 
youthful  queen;  but  here  the  emotion  was  altogether 
different.  The  man  who  was  coming,  whom  they  had 
hot  seen,  and  could  not  see  for  some  considerable  time, 
was  their  "  own  king,"  their  "  Italian  king."  They  nev- 
er had  had  one ;  princes  in  plenty,  but  within  their  mem- 
ory these  had  only  been  instruments  of  the  enemies  of 
their  country ;  but  now  was  coming  one  who  was  their 
own  king,  the  representative  of  a  line  as  ancient  as  any, 
but  chosen  by  their  hearts  and  hands  because  he  and 


244  IT^\XY   IN  TKANSITION. 

his  father  had  fought  for  the  independence  of  Italy,  and 
he  was  prepared  to  fight  again  for  the  independence  of 
Italy.  As  to  attempting  to  describe  the  sights,  the 
sounds,  the  storms  of  music  and  of  shouts,  the  waving 
of  banners,  the  flinging  of  flowers  and  bouquets,  it  is 
totally  out  of  the  question.  On  came  the  king,  on  his 
charger,  his  brilUant  staff  around  him,  on  in  the  midst 
of  a  hurricane  of  cheers,  and  a  shower  of  bays  and  bou- 
quets. 

And  when  Cavour  made  his  appearance,  the  storm 
that  for  a  moment  had  lulled  after  the  king's  passing 
woke  up  again,  and  ten  thousand  voices  and  ten  thou- 
sand hands  thundered  out  their  joy  at  the  sight  of  the 
man. 

Illuminations  and  fire-works  are  generally  much  the 
same  all  the  world  over ;  but  there  was  an  amount  of 
genius  displayed  in  the  lighting  of  the  houses,  of  the 
palace  towers,  the  dome  of  the  Cathedral,  and  especial- 
ly in  the  fire-works  along  the  Arno,  when  on  both  sides 
of  the  river,  with  the  bridge  just  before  our  hotel  for 
the  centre-piece,  brilliant  scenes  were  blazed  off,  that 
forbade  comparison  with  any  tiling  one  had  witnessed 
in  this  line.  As  to  extent,  of  course  it  would  all  have 
been  included  in  one  quarter  of  London  during  the  late 
rejoicings  for  peace ;  but  as  to  the  combination  of  ef- 
fects, no  one  point  could  have  been  selected  on  tli.if  r)o- 
casion  to  approach  it. 

Having  now  seen  so  many  public  demonstrations  in 
Italy,  it  is  but  due  to  the  people  to  state  that  in  every 


FLOEENCE.  245 

instance  they  showed  the  deepest  regard  for  order.  In 
point  of  good  manners  they  exceeded  any  crowds  I  had 
ever  met  with.  I  did  not  witness  one  case  of  drunken- 
ness, of  misconduct,  or  of  angry  words,  except  one 
sharp  passage  between  an  old  soldier  and  a  recruit  in 
Milan.  The  excitements  always  appeared  to  be  those 
of  pure  enjoyment.  No  hatred  or  animosity  was  ever 
vented,  but  in  each  place,  when  the  crape-covered  ban- 
ner of  Yenetia  appeared,  there  were  signs  of  intense 
feeling,  and  especially  at  Florence  on  the  day  of  the 
king's  arrival,  when  it  was  not  carried  alone,  but  accom- 
panied by  two  others,  one  borne  by  Romans,  another 
by  Neapolitans.  Considering  what  passionate  material 
Italian  mobs  are  made  up  of,  it  was  almost  incredible 
that  regard  for  order  and  moderation  should  have  so 
deeply  penetrated  the  masses ;  and  one  could  not  help 
looking  upon  it  as  a  silent  token  that  Providence  was 
preparing  to  lift  up  this  long-oppressed  nation,  and  to 
open  before  it  a  great  career. 

The  Civilta  Cattolica,  in  describing  the  entrance  of 
the  king,  says  that  a  concourse  of  curious  j^eople  was 
not  wanting;  but  the  truth  is,  that  out  of  London 
I  have  never  seen  such  a  multitude.  The  greatest 
throngs  in  Paris  during  the  revolutionary  time  of  1848 
were  not  equal  to  it.  The  same  authority  states  that 
when  the  king  looked  about  the  city,  and  enjoyed  the 
beauties  of  the  Pitti  Palace,  he  said,  "  A  beautiful  city ! 
What  a  pity  one  can  only  see  it  once !"  How  far  this 
may  be  true  I  am  not  prepared  to  say,  nor  to  speculate 


246  ITALY    IN   TIlA>iSITIO>v. 

upon  the  probabilities  of  the  ItaUan  kingdom.  Every 
day  that  passes,  the  principles  and  tendency  of  union 
take  a  greater  hold.  A  mistake  was  made  at  first  in 
retaining  what  they  call  the  Tuscan  autonomy,  or  sep- 
arate government ;  but  this  can  not  last  long,  if  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  new  kingdom  hold  together. 

To  us,  one  advantage  of  the  abolition  of  these  little 
states  will  be,  that  we  shall  no  longer  maintain  an  em- 
bassador at  a  petty  and  corrupt  court,  surrounded  by 
swarms  of  gay  persons,  whose  reputations  in  the  differ- 
ent capitals  of  Europe  have  been  worn  down.  Such 
schools  of  manners  abroad  are  unfriendly  to  all  English 
ideas,  national  and  social ;  nothing  is  more  unlike  a  true 
Englishman  or  Englishwoman  than  the  sort  of  creature 
that  has  long  hung  about  one  of  those  courts,  and  be- 
come enamored  of  the  society  abounding  there.  Their 
very  language  is  denationalized. 

For  all  our  purposes,  one  embassy  at  Turin  is  quite 
enough,  and,  for  the  present,  England  is  ably  represent- 
ed by  Sir  James  Hudson,  who  enjoys  the  double  advant- 
age of  being  considered  by  the  Italians  a  stanch  friend 
of  tlieir  cause  and  a  model  of  the  social  qualities,  while 
in  the  eyes  of  his  own  countrymen  he  stands  as  a  thor- 
ough Englishman.  If  it  be  true,  as  generally  stated, 
that  the  appearance  of  the  Sardinian  army  in  the  Crimea 
was  due  to  him,  then  his  action  upon  the  history  of 
Italy  has  had  momentous  results;  for  that  movement 
both  fixed  the  eyes  of  every  state  in  Italy  upon  that 
army,  and  gave  the  diplomatists  of  Sardinia  a  right  to 


FLOKENCE.  247 

lift  up  their  voice  in  the  great  council  of  Europe.  Sir 
James  is  blessed  with  two  things  of  great  advantage  to 
a  diplomatist,  a  good  presence  and  winning  manners. 
On  a  noble  pair  of  English  shoulders  he  carries  as  fine 
a  head  as  king  or  gentleman  need  wish  for. 

As  to  the  religious  prospects  of  Central  Italy,  all  we 
need  desire  is  to  see  Christians,  individuals,  or  bodies 
imite  their  prayers  and  exertions  to  spread  that  light 
which  is  silently  but  steadily  advancing,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  see  statesmen  carrying  out  the  principles 
of  the  Constitution,  and  giving  practical  religious  liber- 
ty. It  is  one  thing  to  make  proclamation  of  a  theory, 
and  another  to  recognize  what  it  implies  in  the  conflicts 
of  every  day. 

It  indicates  the  catholicity  of  Christian  denominations 
in  England  that  we  find  them  supporting  the  Italian 
Protestant  churches  without  any  plans  for  their  denom- 
inational advancement.  Members  of  the  Church  of  En- 
gland, through  what  is  called  the  Foreign  Aid  Society, 
freely  render  assistance  to  churches  that  have  no  eccle- 
siastical affinity  wdth  their  own.  Members  of  the  Dis- 
senting bodies,  through  their  Continental  Society,  in  the 
same  way  render  assistance  without  any  denomination- 
al agency.  The  Free  Church  of  Scotland  has  long  had 
Dr.  Stewart  at  Leghorn,  and  first  Mr.  Hanna,  and  now 
Mr.  M'Dougal,  at  Florence,  who  only  preach  and  act 
directly  in  English,  but  who  have,  in  every  possible 
way,  and  with  the  greatest  utility,  encouraged  and 
helped  the  Italian  Christians,  especially  the  Yaudois. 


248  IT.VLY   IN   TKANSITION. 

Most  of  those  who  have  been  the  means  of  instruct- 
ing the  converts  of  Central  Italy  were  Plymouth  Breth- 
ren, whose  opinions  upon  questions  of  Church  order  are 
such  that  they  can  not  help  impressing  them  strongly 
on  all  who  come  under  their  influence;  and  perhaps 
there  is  in  the  Italian  mind  something  favorable  to 
teaching  which  leads  them  to  an  abhorrence  of  every 
sort  of  Church  government,  confounding  all  forms  of 
ministry  with  the  dreaded  Romish  priesthood.  But  as 
their  views  mature,  and  their  knowledge  of  the  Chris- 
tian world  and  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  increases,  ex- 
tremes will  correct  themselves ;  and,  in  the  mean  time, 
it  is  enough  for  other  Christians  to  know  that  those 
Itahans  who  are  imbued  most  strongly  with  fears  of 
every  constituted  church  are  earnest  lovers  of  their 
Bible,  zealous  preachers  of  Christ,  and  steady,  coura- 
geous witnesses  for  all  the  essentials  of  Divine  truth.  A 
clergyman  of  the  English  Church,  well  known  in  Flor- 
ence, justly  said,  "  However  much  one  may  wish  that 
their  views  with  regard  to  Church  government  were 
not  so  extreme,  and  however  certain  one  may  be  that 
no  great  Christian  movement  will  take  place  without  a 
change  in  that  point,  still  they  have  done  and  are  doing 
much  good,  and  deserve  all  the  encouragement  that  any 
of  us  can  give  them." 

The  last  thing  that  English  Protestants  ought  to 
think  of  doing  would  be  to  impose  their  own  ideas 
upon  Reformed  Italians.  Let  us  only  encourage,  in- 
vite, and  help  them  forward,  and  in  minor  matters  the 


FLOEENCE.  249 

good  hand  of  Providence  will  guide  them  rightly.  We 
do  not  know  what  new  development  the  reform  move- 
ment in  Italy  may  lead  to.  A  gentleman,  apparently 
conversant  with  public  questions,  and  accustomed  to 
revolve  them,  speaking  of  the  effect  of  the  excommuni- 
cation after  it  had  been  issued,  said,  "  This,  you  will  see, 
will  lead  to  the  union  of  all  Christendom.  The  Church 
in  Italy  will  be  reformed  ;  the  Protestant  churches  will 
draw  nearer  to  us;  and  though  great  difficulties  will 
come  in  the  way,  and  much  time  will  pass,  still  the  issue 
will  be  the  union  of  all  Christendom."  I  asked  him  if 
by  union  he  meant  uniformity  in  all  points  of  observ- 
ance and  belief;  but  he  replied,  Ko,  he  did  not  see  why 
minor  differences  might  not  very  well  exist  without  in 
the  least  degree  hindering  general  union.  How  far  the 
minds  of  thinkers  and  jiublic  men  are  turned  to  the 
probability  of  a  national  reform  I  can  not  profess  to 
say.  Some  parties,  who  ought  to  know  the  priests  well, 
are  confident  that  among  them  large  numbers  are  eager 
for  it.  As  to  politicians,  my  own  impression  was  that, 
in  general,  they  had  not  yet  dared  to  face  the  question ; 
that  their  policy  with  the  Church  was  the  very  natural 
one  of  meeting  each  difficulty  as  it  arose,  and  trying  to 
stave  off  all  others ;  moving  steadily  toward  the  attain- 
ment of  political  liberties,  and  avoiding  as  far  as  possi- 
ble raising  Church  questions. 

Persons  reading  many  of  the  expressions  contained  in 
the  conversations  reported  here  will  be  ready  to  think 
that  these  people  would  at  once  become  Protestants 
L2 


250  ITALY    IX   TKANSITION. 

iinder  a  free  government ;  and,  in  fact,  one  of  the  first 
things  I  heard  in  England,  on  landing,  was  a  statement 
from  a  gentleman  who  had  just  returned  from  Florence, 
to  a  lady  in  the  railway  carriage,  that  all  Northern 
Italy  was  ripe  for  Protestantism.  This  is  a  rash  say- 
ing. Northern  Italy  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  people 
are  weary  of  the  priests,  aUenated  from  the  Church,  re- 
solved to  be  free,  and  panting  after  the  union  and  glory 
of  their  country.  Many  of  them  are  convinced  that  in 
religion  they  have  been  imposed  upon,  and  that  the 
Church  edifice  they  see  around  them  is  not  the  solid 
building  on  the  rock  reared  by  Christ  and  His  apostles, 
but  "  a  frail  and  whited  clump  of  stones."  It  can  hard- 
ly be  doubted  that  large  numbers — perhaps  the  major- 
ity of  the  people,  and  probably  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  priesthood — would  be  not  only  ready,  but  glad 
to  join  any  national  reform  which  would  break  off  their 
yoke,  and  render  religion  more  "  rational,"  as  they  call 
it ;  for  in  the  benefits  of  this  they  might  partake  with- 
out exposing  themselves  individually  to  persecution. 
If  any  great  statesman  or  leading  ecclesiastic  were  bold 
enough  to  initiate  such  a  movement,  it  is  hard  to  say  to 
what  extent  it  might  be  carried.  Did  Cavour  and  the 
king  avow  their  independence  of  Rome,  and  solemnly 
reject  the  pretensions  of  the  Pope  to  universal  domin- 
ion, no  doubt  they  would  divide  the  kingdom  into  two 
parties ;  but  there  can  be  little  question  that  the  army 
and  the  intelligent  portion  of  the  country  would  be 
with  them ;  and  future  generations  of  Italians  would 


FLOEENCE.  251 

look  upon  the  movement  as  do  the  present  generations 
in  countries  where  it  has  occurred,  namely,  as  the  turn- 
ing-point of  national  life  and  vigor. 

Public  events  appear  to  tend  to  a  position  that  will 
force  the  state  to  choose  between  spiritual  independ- 
ence and  temporal  degradation,  and  it  is  by  this  dilem- 
ma that  Providence  has  again  and  again  wrought  out 
the  rescue  of  nations.  In  Italy  it  may  or  it  may  not  be 
so ;  my  business  is  not  to  foretell. 

For  the  moment  the  absorption  of  men's  minds  in 
political  questions  is  unfriendly  to  the  quiet  process  of 
awakening  and  conversion,  and  spiritually-minded  men, 
looking  up  to  the  storm  roaring  over  their  heads,  are 
ready  to  distrust  it,  as  if  it  could  produce  no  other  than 
earthly  and  disturbing  results,  only  leaving  men's  minds 
more  and  more  distracted  from  the  eternal  things  where- 
with they  ought  to  be  engaged.  But  they  forget  that 
in  every  national  deliverance  God  has  been  at  the  same 
time  working  by  two  distinct  currents — the  silent  oper- 
ations of  the  Spirit  upon  the  minds  of  individuals,  and 
political  movements,  by  which  unconscious  crowds  have 
been  led  to  impulses,  and  unwilling  politicians  to  meas- 
ures, that  have  issued  in  making  the  way  of  the  Gospel 
free.  Let  not,  then,  the  spiritually-minded  Italians 
complain  of  the  public  turmoil  that  is  going  on  around 
them. 

I  heard  the  dew-drops  complaining  of  the  clouds, 
and  saying,  "When  you  keep  away,  the  stars  shme 
sweetly  upon  the  earth,  the  dew  is  formed,  and  the  re- 


252  ITALY   IX  TEANSinON. 

freshment  of  creation  goes  on  in  quietness  worthy  of 
its  Author ;  but  when  you  come,  the  heavens  are  dark- 
ened, every  thing  on  earth  cast  under  a  shade,  the  form- 
ation of  dew  hindered,  and  storms  often  arise."  Ay, 
but  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  sent  on  the  same 
mission  by  the  same  hand ! 


Cjinptn  til 
THE  SUMISE  SHORE. 


If  you  lay  your  left  hand  open  upon  your  knee, 
the  space  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  represents 
the  Gulf  of  Genoa ;  the  coast  stretching  away  toward 
Kice — the  thumb — is  called  Kiviera  di  Ponente,  the 
"  Sunset  Shore,"  and  the  coast  stretching  toward  Tus- 
cany— the  finger — the  Riviera  di  Levante,  the  "  Sunriser 
Shore." 

April  was  smiling,  and  breathing,  and  singing  its  best 
along  the  Vale  of  Arno.  The  tumble-down  houses 
scattered  there,  as  if  man's  libel  on  the  beauties  of  the 
Creator,  were  so  spread  around  with  garden-crops  and 
hidden  by  blossoms  that  they  lost  half  their  ugliness. 
The  old  city  of  Pisa  had  the  huge  front  of  its  houses 
and  public  buildings  covered  wdth  preparations  for  a 
grand  illumination  to  receive  the  king.  The  Leaning 
Tower  hung  just  as  it  had  done  wiien  I  saw  it  before, 
or  as  it  has  been  seen  for  any  time  these  many  centu- 
ries, and  the  post-horses  swept  merrily  past  it  on  the 
road  to  the  Sunrise  Shore. 

Between  the  mountains  and  the  sea  lies  a  slip  of  low 
land,  here  perfectly  flat,  and  as  full  of  vegetable  wealth 
and  benutv  as  land  can  ever  be.     The  air  is  soft  and 


256  ITALY  IN  TEANSftlOX. 

warm ;  not  an  air  which,  like  that  of  the  desert,  inspires 
you  with  a  courage  to  do,  but  that  makes  it  a  pleasure 
to  be — that  gives  one,  in  the  bare  fact  of  existing,  a 
soft  and  contented  sensation.  The  farther  one  goes, 
the  richer  and  fairer  the  field  becomes ;  or,  perhaps,  the 
eye  wakes  up  more  and  more  to  a  sense  of  all  with 
which  one  is  surrounded.  Vineyards  and  olive-yards, 
but  such  oUve-yards  as  even  in  Palestine  are  not  to  be 
seen — the  trees  not  so  large  and  fine  as  there,  but  for- 
ests of  ohve,  extending  far  and  far,  and  the  flax  just  be- 
ginning to  flower,  and  the  almond  in  blossom,  and  the 
cherries  and  the  peaches  covered  with  masses  of  their 
own  fair  bloom,  and  the  orange  and  lemon,  the  fruit  of 
the  latter  glistening  in  its  bower  of  green,  and  aloes 
in  the  hedges,  and  occasionally  a  palm — altogether  the 
scene  was  one  succession  of  delights  for  the  senses. 
Wealth,  wealth,  wealth  !  Oh  what  wealth !  And  the 
glorious  mountains  about  Lucca  looking  down,  and 
the  clear  sky  so  bright  and  blue !  But,  after  all  that 
we  say  of  an  Italian  sky,  it  is  not  equal  to  that  of 
Egypt,  nor  to  that  of  many  parts  of  America.  The 
most  ravishing  dome  of  blue  sky  my  eyes  ever  looked 
upon  was  from  Mount  Auburn,  near  Boston ;  and  the 
most  exquisite  sunrise  was  over  the  waters  of  Lake 
Erie,  between  Buffalo  and  Niagara. 

Amid  the  endless  riches  and  delicate  beauties  of  the 
region  over  which  we  were  coursing,  there  was  one 
drawback.  Where  were  the  happy  human  homes? 
where  the  bright  cottages,  where  the  smiling  villages, 


THE   SUXEISE   SHOEE.  257 

the  tidy  farm-yards,  the  well-kept  cattle,  and  the  clean 
children  ?  Men  and  women  there  were,  finely  formed 
as  need  be,  and  children  in  plenty  too ;  but  the  dwel- 
lings! They  did  not  deserve  to  be  called  homes. 
Sometimes  miserable  straw  cabins,  sometimes  square 
houses  with  little  poking  windows,  as  if  every  one  was 
afraid  both  of  robbers  and  the  sun;  and  around  the 
houses  such  dirt  and  disorder,  things  so  out  of  repair 
and  shapeless,  cattle  few  and  ill-tended,  women  bare- 
footed, and  altogether  no  sign  of  wealth,  and  very  little 
of  comfort,  as  the  result  of  all  the  generations  of  civ- 
ilized labor  spent  on  this  most  ancient  shore  of  Europe. 
To  judge  by  the  invaluable  "  Murray,"  one  w^ould  sup- 
pose that  every  town  one  was  coming  to  was  a  place 
of  some  imj^ortance,  for  each  had  its  own  curious  point 
of  history,  or  its  building  or  pictures  well  worth  seeing, 
which  the  writer  did  no  more  than  note  in  moderate 
and  just  language ;  but  the  imagination  beforehand 
would  invest  the  place  Avith  a  certain  beauty  and  im- 
portance; and  when  you  saw  that  it  was  a  miserable 
little  town,  you  felt  as  if  somebody  had  deceived  you. 
How  often  this  occurs ;  and  one  blames  an  author  for 
exaggerated  description,  when  perhaps,  if  you  afterward 
take  the  pains  of  carefully  reading  over  the  book,  you 
will  find  that  not  a  word  is  said  but  what  came  from  a 
mind  thoroughly  determined  to  represent  exactly  what 
it  felt;  but  somehow  your  imagination  has  run  ahead 
of  the  language,  and  invested  objects  with  an  atmos- 
phere of  your  own !     This  we  arc  in  the  habit  of  doing 


258  ITALY   IN   TKANSITIOX. 

with  most  things  that  we  have  not  seen.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, the  little  town  of  Massa,  a  place  which  contains 
the  palace  of  a  duke  and  that  of  a  bishop,  which  is 
overshadowed  by  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  bare 
mountains  in  Europe.  The  beauty  of  bare  mountains 
is  a  something  that  is  very  hard  to  be  accounted  for, 
and  the  internal  coloring  of  the  stone  is  seen  here  bet- 
ter than  in  any  place  I  know  out  of  Arabia.  Vegeta- 
tion yields  a  variety  of  tints  that  exercises  a  powerful 
charm  upon  the  eye.  With  these  warm  gray,  blue,  cop^ 
per-colored,  and  sometimes  purple  mountains  of  marble 
on  one  hand,  with  glimpses  of  the  Mediterranean  to  be 
caught  from  the  surrounding  hills,  with  nature  sporting 
all  her  greens  immediately  around  it — the  gray  green 
of  the  olive,  the  yellow  green  of  the  young  fig-leaf,  the 
dark  green  of  the  pine,  and  the  delicate  emerald  of  the 
flax,  with  every  imaginable  blossom,  with  lemons  hang- 
ing golden  over  the  walls,  and  the  scents  of  flowers  fill- 
ing the  air,  one  would  think  that  Massa  must  be  the 
most  delightful  place  in  the  world.  Yet,  as,  in  some  of 
the  most  beautiful  valleys  of  England — say  Airedale, 
for  instance — by  manufacturing  skill  we  manage  to 
make  as  ugly  villages  as  ever  defaced  nature,  so,  by 
dint  of  bad  government,  and  inaction,  and  want  of  lib- 
erty, this  Massa  is  about  as  stupid  a  little  town  as  post- 
horses  were  ever  changed  at.  One  would  scarcely  en- 
gage to  live  in  it  for  the  palace  of  both  the  duke  and 
the  bishop  put  together,  and  all  the  lemons,  and  or- 
anges, and  figs,  and  silk  that  the  neighborhood  could 
viold. 


THE   SUNEISE  SHOBE.  259 

For  those  that  strike  off  into  the  mountain  to  Carrara 
a  good  post-road  is  formed,  but  those  who  go  on  straight 
to  Sarzana  have  the  advantage  of  seeing  a  piece  of  such 
road  as  is  intended  for  the  natives,  and  wonderfully  bad 
it  is.  Yet  the  poorest  villages — and  poor  they  are — 
have  around  them  such  wonderful  affluence  of  nature 
as  makes  one  feel  that  under  different  management  this 
might  be  the  loveliest  tract  upon  earth.  When  one 
thinks  of  the  lanes  and  cottages  about  our  Westmore- 
land lakes,  where  nature  is  comparatively  sparing,  but 
where  almost  every  step  bears  witness  to  the  effects  of 
generations  of  industry,  one  can  not  help  wondering 
what  this  country  would  be  if  it  had  been  handled  in 
just  the  same  way.  Now  and  then,  upon  the  rising 
ground,  the  glimpses  of  the  sea  come  in  to  add  to  the 
universal  witchery,  and  away  there  to  the  left  lies  the 
site  of  the  old  Luna,  the  queen  of  these  Etruscan  shores, 
from  which  came  that  terrible  Lord  of  Luna  that  Ma- 
caulay  has  sung  in  his  "  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome."  The 
mountains  gradually  press  nearer  to  the  sea  until  you 
reach  Sarzana,  which  is  a  considerable  town,  and  noted 
as  being  the  cradle  of  the  Bonaparte  family ;  one  of 
whom,  a  notary  here,  having  emigrated  to  Corsica,  be- 
came ^the  founder  of  that  branch  whence  sprang  the 
present  imperial  house  of  France. 

A  short  way  beyond  this  the  highlands  fairly  cut  off 
the  path,  running  down  alongside  the  River  Magra  as  if 
to  oppose  a  double  barrier,  of  water  and  of  hill,  against 
farther  progress.     That  Magra  is  a  wayward  stream, 


260  ITALY  IN  TEANSITIOX. 

covering  an  immense  space  with  its  bed,  but  at  present 
only  a  small  one  with  its  waters.  You  see  traces  of  its 
periodical  rage  in  boulders  and  in  wastes.  It  is  but  re- 
cently that  a  bridge  has  been  opened  across  it,  and  a 
fine  monument  to  the  Sardinian  government  that  work 
is.  One  felt  inclined  to  thank  them  for  the  privilege  of 
rolling  over  on  nimble  wheels,  instead  of  going  through 
all  the  dangers  of  shipping  and  unshipping  horses,  car- 
riage, and  passengers,  and  through  the  extortion  of  a 
parcel  of  ferrymen,  who  would  perhaps  slip  a  linch-pin, 
or  something  of  the  kind,  to  detain  you,  and  get  more 
out  of  you.  The  frequency  with  which  the  country  is 
swept  by  torrents,  that  bring  down  ruin  at  certain  peri- 
ods of  the  year  upon  a  considerable  tract,  constantly 
suggests  the  idea  of  how  much  might  be  done  (particu- 
larly when  one  remembers  that  this  is  the  case  almost 
all  over  Italy)  by  a  government  that  would  undertake 
the  formation  of  tanks  and  other  works  of  irrio^ation. 
Under  such  a  sun  as  that  of  Italy,  those  waste  waters 
contained  endless  wealth,  if  properly  turned  to  account. 
The  Hindoos,  by  their  system  of  tanks,  have  shown  us 
how  much  may  be  done  to  bless  hot  countries  with  the 
advantages  of  perennial  irrigation ;  and  if  England  only 
applies  to  India  the  resources  of  its  own  science  and 
capital  in  economizing  Indian  waters,  instead  of  letting 
them  run  to  waste,  they  will  turn  into  every  form  of 
wealth  both  for  the  subject  and  the  governing  country, 
because  every  tropical  stream  is  far  more  than  a  river 
of  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil. 


THE   SUNEISE  SHORE.  261 

Immediately  to  the  north  of  the  Magra  the  highlands 
stand  up  in  conical  hills,  wooded  to  the  top,  and  on  one 
or  two  of  them  towns  are  pitched  exactly  as  in  Syria, 
and  with  very  much  the  same  impression.  In  the  dis- 
tance one  would  think  they  were  beautiful  places ;  and, 
probably,  when  you  entered  them,  they  would  be  as 
dirty  and  as  uncomfortable  as  need  be. 

From  this  j^oint  the  road  continues  among  the  mount- 
ains, first  up  and  then  down,  until  at  last  the  Gulf  of 
Spezzia  comes  out  before  the  eye,  and  presently  you  are 
at  the  level  of  the  sea  again,  at  the  door  of  the  pictur- 
esque, clean,  comfortable  hotel  of  that  promising  town. 

The  Bay,  or,  as  it  is  called,  the  Gulf  of  Spezzia,  is  ca- 
pable of  accommodating  all  the  fleets  of  Europe,  and  is 
henceforth  to  become  the  great  naval  arsenal  of  the  new 
kingdom.  The  town,  standing  just  at  the  head  of  this 
deep  inlet,  reminds  one,  in  point  of  situation,  of  Belfast ; 
^ut  instead  of  having  behind  it  the  great  valley  of  the 
Bann,  it  is  closely  hemmed  in  by  mountains  —  a  back- 
ground which  figures  better  ujDon  canvas,  but  not  so 
well  in  ledgers.  Approaching  the  place  at  night,  one 
would  fear  that  its  prospects  of  commerce  must  be  very 
limited ;  but  in  the  morning,  as  you  begin  to  ascend 
those  hills  under  the  rays  of  the  early  sun,  you  find  what 
mountains  they  are  !  All  the  riches  of  the  plain  flourish 
on  their  sides,  and,  like  an  audience  in  an  amphitheatre, 
are  only  the  more  impressive  for  the  elevation.  As  the 
road  winds  up  scientifically,  down  come  peasant  girls  in 
their  blue  petticoat  and  red  bodice,  and  now  and  then  a 


262  ITALY  IN  TRAJsTSITION. 

strapping  mountaineer,  with  a  living  lamb  slung  over 
his  back,  striding  straight  down  hill  by  short  paths  to 
the  town. 

When  one  has  reached  the  elevation  of  a  few  hundred 
feet,  the  scene  excites  repeated  bursts  of  admiration. 
The  opposite  ridges,  with  their  upland  woods  and  vil- 
lages, the  valley  at  your  feet,  with  its  flowering  trees 
and  glistening  town,  the  glorious  bay,  stretching  away 
to  seaward,  with  its  wild  coast,  and  close  around  you 
the  union  of  garden  beauties  and  mountain  grandeur, 
altogether  form  a  spectacle  almost  worth  going  to  Spez- 
zia  to  see. 

Bays  I  How  beautiful  are  bays !  Those  that  have 
made  the  deepest  impression  upon  one's  memory,  re- 
called by  this,  como  up  for  comparison  :  Table  Bay  and 
False  Bay,  the  western  and  eastern  portals  of  the  Cape ; 
New  York  brilliantly,  and  Dublin  grandly  beautiful; 
Aboukir,  where  the  eye  finds  nothing  and  the  memory 
much  ;  St.  Jean  d'Acre,  with  Carmel  on  the  right,  Leba- 
non on  the  left,  the  mountains  of  Nazareth  behind,  and 
Tabor  only  hidden.  Two  only  remain  to  be  compared. 
Is  it  the  effect  of  boyish  prepossession,  or  is  it  not  true, 
that  could  we  spread  a  Neapolitan  sky  over  Clew  Bay, 
the  bay  of  my  boyhood,  over  its  broad  sheet  of  twenty 
miles  of  unbroken  water,  having  for  its  south  wall  the 
Spread  Eagle  mountain  of  St.  Patrick,  for  its  north  the 
hills  of  Ballycroy  ;  away  out  against  the  Atlantic,  Clare 
Island,  nature's  gigantic  breakwater ;  and  up  toward 
its  head  that  incomparable  labyrinth  of  more  tlinn  three 


THE  SUNEISE   SHOEE.  263 

hundred  islands — some  mere  rocks,  some  sheep-walks, 
some  with  a  single  hut,  some  with  villages — is  it  early 
prejudice  that  makes  one  think  that  under  Italian  light 
this  would  bear  comparison  with  the  Bay  of  Naples, 
excepting  always  that  one  sublime  and  incomparable 
object,  the  burning  mountain  ? 

The  road  is  excellent,  the  horses  good,  the  postill- 
ions civil ;  every  new  winding  brings  into  view  a  new 
sublimity  or  a  new  beauty.  Flowers  by  your  feet, 
blossoms  overhead,  bare  summits  up  aloft,  a  combina- 
tion of  sunshine  and  of  snow,  of  spring  bloom  and 
winter  sternness,  all  raise  the  spirits  to  the  highest 
point. 

As  we  were  slowly  winding  up  one  of  the  steepest 
ascents,  just  before  us  having  a  lonely  chapel  on  the 
shoulder  of  a  mountain,  and  behind  one  of  those  little 
towns  perched  on  the  very  j^oint  of  a  summit,  evident- 
ly the  old  nest  whence  some  vulture  used  to  watch,  in 
other  days,  for  his  prey,  the  hills  rang  with  the  crack 
of  a  musket.  It  was  soon  repeated.  Every  thing  was 
so  cheerful  that  one  immediately  interpreted  it  for  a 
wedding  gun ;  and  there  they  came,  bride  and  bride- 
groom, in  the  bright  colors  of  the  mountaineers,  and 
then  their  troop  of  friends,  all  smiling,  and  after  a  while 
two 'priests,  who  had  been  performing  the  ceremony 
away  at  the  lone  chapel ;  and  the  guns  still  rang  in  the 
hills  as  the  little  group  went  slowly  uj)  toward  the 
eagle-nest  village.     May  they  have  a  hapj)y  home  I 

Who  can  tell  the  wildness  and  beauty  of  a  valley 


264  ITALY   IX  TRANSITION. 

into  which  the  descent  is  as  rapid  as  that  on  one  side 
of  Grassmere,  with  its  little  town,  and  river  at  the  bot- 
tom ;  its  rich  crops  far  up  on  the  hills,  and  then  the 
dark  summits  of  serpentine,  barren  and  rugged,  frown- 
ing against  the  sky?  After  a  while  we  leave  behind 
all  the  vines  and  olives,  all  the  pleasant  blossoms,  all 
the  garden  scenery:  we  arc  in  the  region  of  the  ser- 
pentine, and  among  the  ever-chilling  winds.  Here  the 
eye  travels  away  over  summits  of  snow ;  yonder  over 
the  glorious  Mediterranean,  in  which  direction  the  ho- 
rizon stretches  out  and  out,  until  the  eye  itself  seems 
following  infinity.  A  few  lone  flocks  remain ;  liere  and 
there  a  miserable  hut,  built  for  men  to  kee])  the  way  in 
repair ;  and  above  the  very  highest  points  of  the  pass, 
where  the  summits  seemed  bare,  a  woman  or  two  were 
tending  cattle.  The  top  of  the  pass  of  Velva  reached, 
how  gloriously  the  Mediterranean  and  the  valleys  open 
out  upon  the  other  side !  And  down  we  go  from  our 
elevation  of  more  than  2000  feet,  now  with  a  vision  of 
bays  and  promontories,  and  a  little  sea-side  town,  Mo- 
neglia,  now  with  the  mountain  seeming  as  if  it  would 
push  us  over  the  precipice.  In  a  little  while  we  are 
again  down  upon  the  sea-shore,  where  the  pretty  town 
of  Sestri  stands,  with  its  back  against  a  wooded  head- 
land, and  before  it  the  wide  Bay  of  Cliiavari,  terminated 
on  the  other  side  by  Cape  Fino. 

For  miles  and  miles  along  the  bay  the  road  is  level 
as  a  floor ;  sometimes  clifi*8  that  look  now  like  marble 
and  now  like  slate  edging  it  almost  into  the  water,  and 


THE   SUNEISE  SHOEE.  265 

at  Other  times  the  plain  opening  out  between  the  sea 
and  the  mountains,  where  wells  for  irrigation,  not  un- 
like those  in  India,  and  aloe  hedges,  and  soft  air,  make 
one  almost  believe  that  one  is  in  the  tropics  again. 
The  signs  of  plenty,  if  not  of  comfort,  are  abundant ; 
and  were  the  homesteads  but  orderly  and  clean,  the  eye 
could  have  little  to  desire. 

Chiavari  is  a  pretty  town,  where  one  gets  as  good  a 
dinner  as  traveler  need  wish  for  in  a  remarkably  short 
time,  and  then  for  the  mountains  once  more !  We  are 
soon  again  high  up,  with  the  sea  under  the  cliffs  close 
by,  and  all  the  beauties  of  upland  vegetation  apparently 
richer  and  more  glorious  than  ever.  After  alternating 
between  peeps  at  the  sea,  shut  up  views  of  the  hills, 
outstretching  prospects  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  the 
darkness  of  tunnels  tlirough  the  rock,  you  reach  the 
hills  just  above  Recco;  and  the  sun  is  in  the  west, 
and  the  Mediterranean  all  in  a  glow",  and  the  mount- 
ains before  you  push  themselves  out  bluff  into  the  sea 
in  one  long  succession  of  promontories ;  and  far  away, 
gleaming  over  a  wide  extent  in  the  sunset,  is  Genoa 
the  Proud. 

A  poor  working-man,  who  had  been  toiling  toward 
his  native  city  in  the  hope  of  finding  employment  there, 
Avhich  he  had  failed  to  do  in  other  places,  and  had  got 
leave  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day  to  sit  behind  on 
our  carriage,  with  a  beaming  look  pointed  and  said, 
"Look  at  Genoa!  Look  at  Genoa!"  And  even  for 
one  who  had  not  been  born  there  it  was  a  sight  to  look 

M 


26d  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

at,  SO  far  away,  and  yet  seeming  so  queenly  by  the  sea 
and  in  the  sun.  I  had  often  thought  that  there  was  no 
coast  road  to  be  compared  with  that  between  Belfast 
and  the  Giant's  Causeway,  but  even  it  must  yield  the 
palm. 

Without  seeing  either  Naples  or  the  Sunrise  Shore, 
no  one  can  judge  of  what  Italy  is.  Here  you  learn  the 
secret  of  much  praise  and  poetry,  which,  while  you  are 
in  other  parts  of  the  country,  appears  forced.  Garden 
of  Europe;  after  all!  But  "in  the  garden  there  was  a 
sepulchre ;"  and  in  it,  until  the  other  day.  Religion  lay 
buried  under  the  gorgeous  Oriental  mausoleum,  with 
Liberty,  her  eldest  son,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  Virtue,  her  peerless  daughter.  Art  studied  and 
toiled  in  yain  to  make  up  for  the  loss  of  them  all.  But 
a  breath  from  on  high  is  passing  over  the  land ;  there 
is  a  stirring  among  the  tombs,  the  uprising  of  a  host. 
May  He  who  giveth  life  guide  all  this  movement  to 
happy  and  holy  ends ! 

As  one  looks  back,  and  dwells  again  and  again  on 
such  scenery  as  that  of  the  Sunrise  Shore,  how  strongly 
comes  home  the  impression  that  this  world  is  furnished 
for  us  by  a  Father,  not  a  mere  master !  In  furnishing  a 
house  for  a  servant,  you  would  think  of  his  health  and 
comfort ;  but  for  whom  would  you  put  in  flowers,  and 
paintings,  and  singing-birds,  and  other  tokens  of  regard 
for  tastes  and  feelings  ?  Only  for  a  child,  or  for  one 
whom  you  loved. 


Clia|itBr  liii. 
CIVITA  VECCHIA  AND  THE  CAMPAGNA. 


A  BEiGHT  sun  rose  on  a  Sunday  morning  as  we  en- 
tered the  harbor  of  Civita  Vecchia.  The  place  looks 
rather  ragged.  A  large  white  flag  was  flying  from  a 
small  craft,  bearing  St.  Peter  full  length  in  yellow,  St. 
Paul  in  red,  and  above  them  the  keys  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  surmounted  by  the  triple  crown  of  priestly, 
kingly,  and  imperial  dominion  on  earth.  "No  boats,  no 
stir,  no  landing,  no  sign  of  it !  "  What  are  we  wait- 
ing for  ?"  asks  an  Irish  voice.  "  Waiting  till  the  police 
has  satisfied  itself  that  we  are  worthy  to  set  foot  on 
the  sacred  soil  of  Civita  Vecchia !"  A  young  lady  who 
talked  French  so  well  that  she  must  have  been  edu- 
cated in  France,  probably  in  a  convent,  told  me  very 
authoritatively  that  I  was  mistaken ;  we  were  not  wait- 
ing for  the  police  to  examine  our  credentials,  but  for 
the  medical  authorities  to  see  if  we  had  a  clean  bill  of 
health :  a  priest  had  told  her  so.  Of  course,  I  held  my 
tongue  and  smiled.  After  a  half  hour  or  so  an  official 
came  on  board  and  called  out  a  name.  A  gentleman 
came  forward  and  received  a  "permit"  to  land.  Sev- 
eral freshmen  ran  to  the  gangway  to  share  his  boat, 
and  came  back  to  inquire  what  was  the  matter.    Soon 


270  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

a  second  official,  and  then  started  another  party,  which 
had  accompanied  a  bishop  on  board  the  day  before; 
after  them  went  the  bishop  himself.  The  Frenchmen 
began  to  grow  testy;  they  were  "only  Frenchmen," 
and  had  to  wait  w^hile  these  priests,  and  friends  of 
priests,  had  permits  sent  off  for  them.  As  the  bishop 
left,  one  of  the  Frenchmen  said,  "Ah!  the  gaiUard,  he 
is  fond  of  women ;  he  was  surrounded  by  them  all 
night."  There  certainly  had  been  nothing  to  call  for 
this  remark,  and  no  Englishman  would  ha^e  thought 
of  making  it.  The  bishop  and  the  ladies  of  his  party 
had  been  perfectly  decorous ;  but  the  system  makes 
men  suspicious. 

As  one  permit  after  another  came,  the  young  lady  of 
the  bill  of  health  looked  very  queer.  At  last,  about 
two  hours  after  the  anchor  dropped,  one  portentous 
man  stands  on  the  deck.  His  hands  are  full  of  per- 
mits ;  he  begins"  calling  out  name  after  name ;  each 
man  takes  his  own  in  silent  thankfulness,  scrambles  for 
a  boat,  and  soon  touches  the  well-guarded  soil  of  the 
sacred  kingdom. 

The  Custom-house  people  were  slow,  but  very  civil, 
and  did  not  beg,  or  seem  to  look  for  bribes — ^no  small 
thing  for  a  place  so  near  Rome.  "We  were  glad  to  get 
into  the  hotel  and  begin  the  rest  of  the  Lord's  day ; 
but,  I  think,  all  the  other  passengers  went  off  direct  to 
Rome.  After  a  while  I  went  out  for  a  quiet  walk. 
The  street  in  which  the  hotel  stands  is  broad,  fringed 
with  high  buildings,  looking  like  barracks,  which  some 


CIYITA  YECCHIA  AND   THE   CAMPAGNA.  271 

are.  At  the  head  of  it  is  a  kind  of  old  rampart,  now 
undergoing  repair  and  extension,  the  works  on  which, 
to  the  credit  of  the  papal  government,  were  suspended 
for  the  Sunday.  . 

Just  as  I  reached  the  head  of  this  main  street,  a  man 
turned  the  corner  in  a  condition  not  writable.  He  had 
been  making  the  most  private  use  possible  of  a  public 
place,  and  had  not  staid,  before  facing  the  chief  street, 
to  make  himself  fit  to  be  seen.  He  could  hardly  hob- 
ble, and  was  putting  matters  right  at  leisure.  In  Rome 
I  had  seen  such  things,  but  never  in  any  other  city,  and 
there  only  in  out-of-the-way  places  near  the  Tiber,  and 
in  the  region  of  the  Mounts.  The  French  are  indecent 
enough,  but  leagues  away  from  this. 

We  heard  a  friar  preach.  He  had  a  little  platform 
of  about  ten  feet  square  erected  under  the  pulpit,  evi- 
dently to  be  better  heard.  On  it  stood  a  large  crucifix, 
the  knee  of  the  figure  reaching  to  the  head  of  the  friar, 
Avho  was  tall  and  thin,  and  also  a  gilt  chair,  with  crim- 
son and  yellow  damask.  He  began  by  chanting  a 
prayer  at  the  feet  of  the  image.  Then  he  sat  down, 
and  began  to  talk  his  exordium.  The  subject  was  Pen- 
itence or  Confession.  As  he  warmed  he  stood  up,  and 
walked  about  at  long  range  on  the  platform. 

He  sometimes  addressed  them  as  Signoriy  "  Gentle- 
men ;"  at  others  as  Cari^  "  Beloved ;"  at  others  as  Fra- 
telli, "  Brethren."  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  heard 
the  last  from  an  Italian  priest.  "  My  dear  brother,"  he 
said,  "  you  confess,  and  think  it  is  all  right.    But  how 


272  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

do  you  conduct  yourself?  Ah!  my  brother,  you  are 
belching  blasphemies  all  the  day  long ;  and  when  you 
enter  your  house,  it  is  like  a  savage,  to  abuse  your  wife, 
and  curse  the  children."  He  informed  this  dear  broth- 
er that  confession  with  such  fruits  was  not  good.  His 
great  point  was  to  get  them  to  confess.  They  thought 
it  hard  and  comfortless,  and  it  teas  hard  to  make  a  good 
confession ;  but  if  they  only  forced  themselves  to  it  for 
a  little  while  they  would  take  a  real  liking  to  it.  He 
complimented  the  beauty  of  their  city,  and  twice  re- 
ferred to  the  happiness  of  living  in  such  a  dehghtful 
place.  He  woimd  up  by  an  earnest  exhortation  to 
come  to  confession ;  and,  sitting  down  in  his  gilded 
chair,  told  a  story  of  a  young  lady  who  had  committed 
a  shameful  sin,  which  she  could  not  bring  herself  to 
confess  to  her  own  priest,  but,  finding  a  Jesuit  father 
of  celebrity,  whom  he  named,  preaching,  as  he  then 
was,  she  confessed  to  him ;  but  either  she  withheld  the 
fact,  or  some  other  flaw  (what,  I  did  not  exactly  hear) 
was  in  her  confession.  It  came  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  father.  She  was  struck  with  death,  and  he  had  a 
vision,  and  saw  her  soul  in  hell. 

Talking  of  their  fasting,  he  made  a  hit  at  them  which 
caused  a  universal  smile ;  but  I  did  not  catch  the  point 
of  the  joke. 

Although  our  baggage  had  been  searched  on  landing, 
we  had  to  get  all  we  took  to  the  hotel  searched  again 
before  leaving  on  the  Monday.  Then  every  separate 
package  was   sealed  with  lead.     Our  passports   were 


CIVITA  VECCHIA  AND   THE  CAMPAGNA.  273 

taken  from  us  at  the  railway,  to  be  delivered  to  us 
again  in  Rome.  English  was  a  good  deal  spoken  in 
the  train ;  Irish  and  Belgians  seemed  to  be  strong. 

The  natural  features  of  the  country  between  Civita 
Vecchia  and  Rome  are  fine.  Swelling  hills  alternate 
with  wide  plains,  and  a  rich  flat  runs  along  the  sea- 
shore, the  desolation  of  which  surpassed  my  ideas.  It 
forcibly  reminded  me  of  the  country  betw^een  Beer- 
sheba  and  the  Hills  of  Judah.  It  was  the  same  cross 
between  a  country  and  a  desert,  soil  and  grass,  flocks 
and  brush,  and  an  occasional  patch  of  poor  cultivation ; 
but  no  villages,  no  towns,  only  some  of  those  horrid 
haystack  huts,  with  here  and  there  a  house ;  in  one 
place  a  broken  bridge,  and  one  or  two  big  buildings, 
like  government  establishments.  "  Haystack  hut"  seems 
an  odd  term,  but  it  is  a  right  one ;  they  are  not  bee- 
hive like  Kaffir  huts,  nor  mud  Hke  an  Irish  or  Egyptian 
hovel ;  they  are  things  exactly  like  an  oblong  haystack : 
a  mass  of  thatch  on  a  frame  of  wood,  with  high  roof, 
rather  after  the  Fiji  model,  and  neither  plank,  nor  beam, 
nor  wall  to  be  seen — -just  thatch,  all  thatch.  The  first 
time  I  saw  them  was  in  the  Campagna,  between  Rome 
and  Albano,  and  it  was  a  good  while  before  the  truth 
dawned  upon  me  that  they  were  habitations  for  the 
heirs  of  the  Romans.  At  first  I  took  them  to  be  sheds 
for  my  old  Indian  friends,  the  bufialoes. 

The  vegetation  on  some  jungle-tracts  proved  that  the 
soil  is  rich.  Here  and  there  the  bufialo  showed  his 
dingy  and  stupid  form — meet  emblem  of  the  soil,  an 
M2 


274  ITALY   IX   TEAXSITIOX. 

Asiatic  beast  of  burden.  At  one  point  of  the  route  I 
counted  eleven  minutes  of  railway  running  between 
one  cultivated  spot  and  another ;  at  a  second,  no  less 
than  seventeen.  And  is  this  the  continution  of  the 
Sunrise  Shore  ?  The  same  land,  -with  a  finer  sweep  of 
plains,  with  gentler  hills,  with  more  equally  distributed 
waters,  but  wdth  a  few  scattered  groups  of  peasants  in- 
stead of  multitudes — with  desolation  instead  of  bloom. 

As  we  sped  along  amid  this  natural  wealth  and  artifi- 
cial penury,  a  flying  column  of  smoke  to  the  right  caught 
my  eye.  Off*  the  coast  of  Egypt,  and  again  far  up  the 
Xile,  I  had  hailed  that  flying  flag  of  grimy  hue  as  an 
EngUsh  institution.  There  it  is  again,  the  old  skyward 
column  of  industrious,  work-doing,  bread-bringing,  ugly, 
useful  smoke.  "  It  is  the  Tiber,"  I  cried ;  and  as  we 
all  looked,  a  sail  or  two  confirmed  the  token,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  more  we  w^ere  gazing  on  the  yellow  tide 
of  the  old  Roman  river. 

After  a  while  the  heights  of  the  Aventinc  come  in 
view,  and  there  is  the  great  new  church  of  St.  Paul's, 
glowing  with  internal  embellishments,  and  haunted  by 
fever,  till,  in  summer,  it  is  forsaken  even  by  monks. 
And  yonder  is  the  pyramid  tomb  of  Caius  Cestus,  close 
by  the  old  walls,  and  helping  the  eye  to  fix  upon  the 
English  burial-ground,  where  so  many  of  our  nation 
rest. 

The  first  time  I  had  seen  the  Campagna  of  Rome  was 
from  the  north.  After  leaving  Viterbo  I  had  walked 
on  alone  to  the  top  of  Monte  Cimino,  and  there  enjoyed 


CIVITA   VECCHIA   AND   THE   CAMPAGNA.  275 

that  -wonderful  view  from  a  height  of  nearly  three  thou- 
sand feet,  in  which  the  eye  takes  in  an  immense  range 
of  the  Apennines,  with  the  valley  of  the  Tiber,  including 
objects  that  remind  you  of  Fabius  andPio  Nono,  Virgil 
and  Antonelli ;  and,  although  a  day's  journey  distant, 
through  that  bright  air  one  sees  an  object  which  first 
fixes  the  eye,  and  then  raises  the  question,  "  Can  that  be 
St.  Peter's  ?"  and  then,  judging  from  the  natural  objects 
within  view  and  from  the  apparent  distance,  comes  the 
conviction  that  it  must  be  so. 

But  oh,  where  were  the  glorious  cities  and  the  multi- 
tudes that  used  to  throng  these  plains  ?  From  that 
height  one  went  down,  passing  through  some  tolerable 
villages,  and  one  or  two  ruinous  cities,  until  the  Cam- 
pagna  was  fairly  reached ;  and  to  take  for  instance  the 
little  town  of  Monterosi  as  a  sample,  what  a  scene  of 
filth,  and  ruin,  and  wretchedness  it  is !  Look  at  the 
thing  called  a  butcher's  shop  ;  look  at  the  place  that  is 
said  to  be  a  cofiee-house ;  at  the  condition  of  the  streets; 
at  the  heads  of  the  children ;  at  the  clothes  of  the  wom- 
en ;  at  the  skin  of  the  men ;  and  then  go  and  look  into 
the  little  neglected  building,  with  the  few  miserable 
daubs,  and  more  miserable  statues  and  tawdry  orna- 
ments, that  calls  itself  a  church.  There  is  about  every 
thing  a  feeling  of  hopelessness  that  goes  very  deep  into 
one's  soul.  You  hardly  know  which  is  worse,  this,  or 
the  desolation  through  which  you  pass  afterward  near- 
er the  Eternal  City,  over  the  ancient  dwelling-places  of 
the  Romans.    Bare  lands,  poor-looking  men  now  and 


276  ITALY   IN  TKAKSITION. 

then  passing,  with  carts  that  in  England  might  be  fair- 
ly exhibited  as  agricultural  curiosities ;  and  the  only  ob- 
ject looking  reaUy  comfortable  and  happy  being  the 
asses,  which  are  of  a  very  fine  breed,  much  larger  than 
the  Egyptian  ones,  though  not  so  sprightly :  this  is  the 
scene,  till  all  the  day  you  go  wondering  how  bad  gov- 
ernment can  thus  lay  waste  a  country.  The  night  had 
fallen  before  we  entered  the  gate  of  Rome.  There  was 
in  the  diligence  a  Roman  and  his  wife,  who  had  been 
away  for  some  time,  perhaps  some  years :  "  There  it  is," 
she  said,  with  great  feeling,  "  the  capital  of  the  world !" 
and,  after  all  that  one  had  been  passing  through,  the 
words  of  the  poor  lady  did  strike  strangely  upon  the 
ear ;  and  as  she  gazed  out  upon  the  Piazza  del  Popolo, 
the  really  beautiful  entrance  to  the  city,  she  clapped  her 
hands  with  positive  delight,  and  cried,  "  Look !  look ! 
don't  you  see  the  gas  ?  Don't  you  see  the  gas  ?"  And 
it  was  quite  true  :  there  it  was.  The  government  had 
at  last  made  up  its  mind  to  confer  upon  the  city  this 
wonderful  advantage  of  being  lighted  by  gas ;  but  even 
then  it  was  judiciously  restrained  to  a  few  of  the  prin- 
cipal streets. 

At  two  other  points  I  crossed  the  Campagna.  From 
Rome  to  Albano  the  desolation  appears  to  be  almost 
perfect,  but  you  have  not,  as  between  Civita  Vecchia 
and  the  city,  the  same  advantage  of  undulating  ground 
and  hills  close  at  hand  to  reUeve  the  dullness  of  the 
scene.  Traveling  slowly  over  a  flat,  lookmg  at  nothing 
but  bare  lands,  where  there  is  some  cultivation,  but  no 


CIVITA  VECCHIA  AND  THE   CAMPAGNA.  277 

towns  or  villages,  Avith  a  few  of  those  intolerably  miser- 
able cabins  already  described,  with  buffaloes  here  and 
there,  and  with  the  memory  of  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  who  once  rejoiced  in  manly  life  upon  these 
plains,  the  spirits  fairly  give  way.  On  reaching  the  far 
sVie  of  that  plain,  I  remember  saying  to  my  wife,  "  Aft- 
(  r  what  one  has  felt  this  morning,  I  doubt  whether  ever 
before  I  had  what  ought  to  be  called  a  feeling  of  melan- 
choly. To  see  the  ruin  of  a  house,  if  it  is  not  so  old 
that  all  idea  of  a  family  is  gone  out  of  memory,  is  touch- 
ing ;  to  see  that  of  a  village  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, still  more  so  ;  and  that  of  a  town,  distressing  ; 
but  never  before  did  I  see  the  ruin  of  a  country,  and  of 
such  a  country,  and  all  this  wrought  in  the  name  of  the 
Church  of  Christ."  There  is  room  for  all  the  Pope's 
Irish  brigade  to  have  broad  and  fertile  lands  on  the 
Campagna;  but  fever  has  rejoiced  over  desolation  so 
long,  that  woe  to  the  first  generation  of  those  who  set- 
tle here. 

Another  line  across  the  Campagna  is  to  Frascati,  to 
which  there  is  now  a  railway ;  and  matters  are  so  ju- 
diciously arranged  that  if,  before  leaving  your  own  door 
in  Rome  for  the  railway-office,  you  put  your  wife  into  a 
private  carriage,  you  may  by  possibility  reach  Frascati 
by  rail  in  time  to  bid  her  welcome ;  but  it  is  not  cer- 
tain, as  she  may  have  the  start  of  you.  The  things  are 
very  nicely  balanced :  you  have  so  long  to  wait  at  the 
office,  so  far  to  go  to  the  station,  and  so  long  to  wait 
there,  and  to  take  it  so  quietly  on  the  road,  and  make 


278  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

Stops  where  there  are  neither  towns  nor  villages  to  stop 
for,  that  if  the  government  has  been  compelled  to  yield 
to  the  unseemly  innovation  of  a  railway,  it  does  at  least 
avoid  any  thing  that  could  encourage  undue  intercourse ; 
and  it  is  perfectly  right.  It  has  its  own  instincts,  which 
tell  it  that  the  steam-horse  is  an  English  charger  that 
carries  English  ideas. 

The  way  to  Frascati  lies  through  unbroken  soUtude ; 
the  land  is  for  the  most  part  cultivated,  but  where  do 
the  people  come  from  ?  Xo  town,  no  village ;  the  num- 
ber of  houses  the  whole  way,  about  twelve  miles,  might 
easily  be  counted.  The  old  arches  of  the  Roman  aque- 
ducts hold  up  their  giant  bones  in  protest  that  those 
valleys  were  a  place  for  men,  but  the  solitude  around 
proclaims  that  for  men  they  are  now  no  place.  The 
moment  you  touch  the  hills  the  scene  changes ;  you  are 
in  the  midst  of  rich  vegetation,  vineyards,  olives,  every 
thing  that  ought  to  confer  wealth  upon  a  people,  every 
thing  that  does  make  mterest  for  a  traveler;  and  the 
memories  of  immortal  Romans  meet  you  at  every  step  ; 
and  some  of  the  greatest  names  in  the  history  of  mind 
are  famiUar  recollections  upon  those  hills.  It  was  just 
here  that  Cicero  and  his  friends  used  to  have  those  dis- 
cussions which  will  refresh  and  interest  human  intellects 
to  the  latest  day. 

One  day  in  Frascati,  being  weary  and  waiting  for  the 
train,  I  went  into  a  coffee-house:  it  was  during  Holy 
Week,  and  Italy  was  boiling  with  great  events.  Great 
events  were  just  occurring  at  the  court  of  Rome.    There 


CIVITA   VECCHIA  AND  THE   CAMPAGNA.  279 

was  no  paper  on  the  table,  no  magazines,  nothing  for 
any  human  being  to  read.  It  was  a  nice  coffee-house : 
would  that  we  could  have  such  in  towns  of  the  size  in 
England — a  place  to  invite  people  to  go  and  sit,  and 
spend  an  hour,  looking  on  beautifully-painted  walls  and 
ceiling,  and  enjoying  an  open  and  lofty  chamber,  with- 
out spending  money  to  any  ruinous  extent,  or  incurring 
temptations !  What  a  civilizing  institution  the  coffee- 
house is!  It  evidently  has  had  its  effect  upon  Italy. 
Goldoni,  in  his  J3ottega  del  Caffe^  makes  one  of  his 
characters  say,  "  Formerly  brandy  used  to  be  in  vogue, 
but  now  coffee."  In  England  the  one  great  institu- 
tion is  the  public  house,  the  most  popular,  the  most 
powerful,  the  most  costly  of  all  British  institutions, 
and  the  most  abominable  one  in  Europe;  and  Mr. 
Gladstone  deserves  everlasting  gratitude  for  his  states- 
manlike endeavors  to  undermine  it.  Well,  but  about 
this  coffee-house  !  After  I  had  remained  lolling  on  the 
comfortable  bench  for  a  while  alone,  in  came  an  old 
gentleman,  and  sat  down  without  ordering  any  thing, 
or  seeming  to  have  any  idea  of  ordering. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Signor  Joseph  ?"  said  the  waiter. 

"  Oh  what  a  windy  day !" 

"  Yes,  very  windy ;  any  news  ?" 

"  Oh  no,  there  is  no  news." 

"Have  you  seen  the  GiornaU  di Roma  f"* 

"  Oh  no,"  said  the  old  man,  "  I  have  not  seen  it ;"  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  What's  the  use  ?"  "  I  have  seen  the 
Civilta  Cattolica,  and  there  is  nothing  in  it;  just  the 
old  things." 


280  ITALY  IX  TRANSITION. 

Presently  in  came  a  young  man,  and,  addressing  him- 
self also  to  Signor  Joseph,  he  said,  "  Is  there  any  news  ?" 

"  No,  none  at  all ;"  and  he  began  to  tell  that  he  had 
heard  something  or  other  from  Central  Italy,  repeating, 
some  of  the  facts  of  several  weeks  old  in  a  garbled 
and  incorrect  form.  A  middle-aged  man  now  joined 
the  party. 

"  Is  there  any  thing  about  General  Lamoriciere  ?" 

"IS'o,"  said  one;  "ISTo,"  said  another.  Had  they 
seen  the  "  Journal  of  Rome  ?"  "  No,"  they  all  said  in 
the  same  tone ;  "  what's  the  use  ?"  and  old  Signor  Jo- 
seph repeated  once  more,  "  I  have  seen  the  Civilta  Cat- 
tolica^  but  it  is  just  the  solite  cose — just  the  old  things." 

"But,"  said  the  waiter,  "you  ought  to  read  the 
'  Gazette  of  Genoa.'  That  really  does  contain  some 
news.  I  used  sometimes  to  see  that."  Now  this 
"  Gazette  of  Genoa"  is  the  one  paper  in  the  ItaUan 
language  which  this  j^aternal  government  allows  to 
cross  its  frontier;  the  only  one  that  does  not  contain 
so  much  poison  that  it  w^ould  be  dangerous  to  the 
political  health  of  the  Roman  people;  and  even  it  is 
not  quite  safe,  but  still  it  is  allowed.  Poor  fellows ! 
after  all,  they  had  a  general  impression  that  there  was 
such  a  place  as  the  world,  and  that  they  somehow  or 
other  had  a  sort  of  connection  with  it,  and  thoy  w^ould 
like  to  have  some  idea  of  what  it  was  doing.  They 
seemed  very  uncomfortable,  and  fumbling  about  in  the 
dark,  and  knowing  nothing  of  what  was  taking  place 
outside  their  little  gate.     While  I  was  just  thinking  of 


CI  VITA   VECCHIA   AND   THE   CAMPAGNA.  281 

the  art  by  wliicli  human  minds  could  be  shut  up  in  this 
way,  and  accounting  to  myself  better  than  I  had  done 
before  for  the  glee  of  the  students  in  the  coffee-house 
at  Milan,  with  the  room  full  of  publications,  and  their 
own  tongues  perfectly  free,  the  door  opened,  and  in 
walked  a  priest  in  his  surplice,  with  something  in  his 
hand.  The  men  touched  their  hats  to  him  respectfully 
enough.     He  passed  on  to  an  inner  room. 

"What  are  they  about?"  said  one.  "He  is  not  going 
in  to  visit  any  one,  is  he  ?" 

Presently  the  waiter  returned,  and  said  he  had  want- 
ed some  little  thing ;  and  then  he  gave  a  grumble,  and 
said,  "  Ah,  he  does  not  leave  us  his  blessing."  The 
middle-aged  man,  who  seemed  the  sharpest  of  the  set, 
said,  "  No,  he  has  no  blessing  for  any  body  but  the 
women." 

"  Is  Antonio  married  ?"  said  Signor  Joseph. 

"  N'o,  he  is  not  married,"  was  the  reply. 

"How  is  that?" 

"  Well,  there  is  some  talk  about  the  girl  going  into  a 
convent ;"  and  then  began  a  discussion  upon  nunneries, 
which  I  certainly  shall  not  repeat ;  but  the  conclusion 
of  it  was  that  the  middle-aged  man  said,  "  They  ought 
to  adopt  a  law  that  no  nun  shall  be  admitted  under 
the  age  of  thirty-five.  I  think  that  might  be  tolerably 
safe."  Every  now  and  then  these  poor  fellows  would 
give  a  furtive  glance  at  the  stranger,  as  if  trying  to 
know  whether  he  understood  them  or  not,  or  whether 
he  was  one  before  whom  they  might  speak  their  minds. 


Cljnptn  tin. 


ROME  m  HOLY  WEEK. 


We  enter  by  the  Trastevere  (the  "  over  the  water" 
part  of  Rome),  which  looks  dingy,  yet  less  so,  that  is, 
less  filthy,  than  a  few  years  ago.  Two  Irishmen  are 
with  me  on  the  omnibus,  one  evidently  a  Romanist,  the 
other  doubtful.  Depending  on  me  for  interpreting, 
they  feel  some  respect,  but  seem  to  peer  hard  into  my 
views  of  the  Eternal  City,  not  feeling  as  yet  quite  sure 
of  their  own.  Mine  are  decidedly  behind  a  veil.  Those 
of  my  Catholic  friend  become  rather  depressed,  as  bad 
smells,  dirty  sights,  and  despicable-looking  friars  en- 
counter us. 

"Is  that  a  basilica?"  asked  the  friend  of  doubtful 
color,  pointing  to  a  large  and  ugly  church.  "I  dare 
say.  My  impression  is,  that  '  Plenary  and  Perpetu- 
al Indulgence,'  which  is  promised  by  the  inscription, 
indicates  a  basilica ;  but  I  am  not  quite  clear  as  to  what 
that  promise  means."  They  did  not  feel  disposed  to 
enlighten  me.  "Is  it  a  basilica?"  I  asked  a  Roman. 
"  Yes,  St.  Mary  of  the  Trastevere."  "  And  what  is 
meant  by  '  Plenary  and  Perpetual  Indulgence  ?' "  "  Oh, 
all  the  basilicas  have  that  privilege  over  the  other 
churches.    We  have  seven  of  them ;  they  are  the  great 


286  ITALY   IN   TEAXSITIOX. 

original  Chi'istian  churches,  and  have  special  privileges, 
of  which  that  is  one."  "  But  what  is  it  ?"  "  Oh,  you 
know,  if  you  visit  the  basihca,  and  pray  with  due  devo- 
tion, you  have  indulgence."  "  Yes,  but  what  is  it  ?" 
"  It  abates  the  pains  of  Purgatory."  "  But  if  plenary 
and  perpetual,  why  go  to  Purgatory  at  all  ?"  "  Oh, 
that  is  an  affair  for  the  priests." 

Through  an  old  lumbering  arch  into  a  sort  of  Wap- 
ping  Street,  and  I,  in  my  office  of  interpreter,  say  to  the 
Catholic,  "  We  are  now  entering  the  Street  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  He  attempted  a  remark,  but  it  stuck  in  his 
throat ;  and  as  I  joointed  to  the  words,  "  Borgo  Santo 
Spirito^''  he  evidently  felt  shocked.  The  crowds  of 
French  soldiers  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  his  com- 
rade. "  What  a  thing  for  one  government  to  be  held 
up  at  home  by  another  in  that  w^ay !"  Poor  fellow  !  it 
was  a  depressing  process.  Grand  ideas  of  beauty,  glo- 
ry, and  hoUness  were  crushed  with  every  roll  of  the 
omnibus  wheels. 

"  There's  St.  Peter's,"  I  cried,  glad  to  relieve  him ; 
but  it  showed  through  a  vista  of  dingy  houses,  adorned, 
as  usual  in  Rome,  with  "  washing"  hanging  out  of  the 
windows.  Still  it  was  St.  Peter's ;  and  with  one's  old 
admiration  of  the  dome,  I  felt  its  grandeur.  But  he 
only  saw  just  the  dome,  with  that  unbeautiful  fore- 
ground ;  and  all  he  said  was,  "  Why,  it's  very  like  St. 
Paul's."  On  to  the  Bridge  of  St.  Angelo :  as  I  was 
pointing  out  the  features  of  Hadrian's  tomb,  he  caught 
the  sign  of  the  Pope's  dependency  weaving  in  front  of 


KOME   IN   HOLY   WEEK.  287 

it,  and  it  seemed  to  produce  on  him  a  feeling  which  re- 
minded me  of  my  own  when  I  saw  the  crescent  banner 
of  the  Turk  floating  upon  Mount  Sion.  He  interrupted 
my  remarks  with, ''  The  French  flag !"  in  a  tone  so  af- 
fecting as  to  silence  one  for  a  time.  Ay,  the  French 
flag,  there  at  the  Pass  of  the  Tiber,  between  the  Vati- 
can and  the  bulk  of  Rome !  The  French  flag,  not  the 
Pope's,  protecting  the  way  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter, 
protecting  the  site  of  the  Holy  Inquisition,  protecting 
the  cardinals  and  the  monks,  and  all  the  powers  of  the 
Church.  That  flag  threw  a  shadow  on  the  waters  of 
the  Tiber  which  robbed  them  of  half  their  glory  in  the 
eye  of  my  neighbor. 

Poor  old  river !  as  full,  and  fresh,  and  strong  as  need 
to  be;  but  it  bears  only  fishermen  on  its  bosom,  and 
laves  but  the  palaces  of  priests,  or  the  abodes  of  discon- 
tented citizens.  The  one  decent  vessel  that  floats  on 
its  waters  is  no  child  of  its  banks,  but  the  "  English  Fire 
Ship,"  to  borrow  a  name  from  the  Bedouin  Mousa  on 
the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea.  Instead  of  men  who  impose 
respect  upon  the  world,  looking  over  the  bridge  with 
proud  and  loving  eyes,  it  has  on  the  battlements  the 
stone  forms  of  fantastic  angels ! 

How  often  I  exclaimed,  while  musing  upon  the  banks 
of  the  Nile,  "What  constitutes  the  identity  of  a  river?" 
This  feeUng  came  back  strongly  here,  at  this  new  sight 
of  the  bereaved  Tiber.  Is  it  the  same  river  which 
coursed  under  Horatius?  Where  are  the  waters  that 
flowed  then  ?    Where  the  earth  they  touched  ?    Where 


288  ITALY   IN  TKAJSrSITION. 

the  buildings  they  passed  by?  Where  the  men  and 
beasts  that  drank  then  ?  All  gone,  never  to  be  gather- 
ed again.  Not  a  drop  of  the  stream,  or  a  grain  of  the 
sand,  or  a  yard  of  the  bank  the  same.  Yet  it  is  the  Ti- 
ber— the  old,  old  Tiber  of  the  kings,  the  consuls,  the 
emperors,  the  popes,  preserving  its  place,  its  complex- 
ion, its  name,  and  holding  fast  its  relations  to  the  sky 
from  which  it  is  fed,  and  the  earth  out  of  which  it 
springs,  and  the  sea  into  which  it  poured  of  old  its 
freights  of  glory,  and  now  pours  its  forsaken  stream. 
At  that  point  of  the  Castle  St.  Angelo  the  emblems  of 
its  condition  meet — the  grand  old  tomb  of  Hadrian, 
the  statue-angels  of  the  Bridge,  the  lively  flag  of  Gaul : 
its  captains  are  dead,  its  religion  is  Art,  its  guardian 
power  the  lord  of  the  trans- Alpine  tri-color. 

Across  the  river,  our  Catholic  friend  seemed  little  re- 
lieved by  the  aspect  of  the  city — better,  but  yet  jDoor. 
Soon  we  were  working  up  the  narrow  street  leading  to 
the  Piazza  di  Spagna :  things  looked  cleaner.  But  still, 
for  one  who  had  fancied  this  city  to  be  the  joy  of  the 
whole  earth,  it  is  a  sober  progress.  Dublin  would  beat 
it  ten  times  over,  and  any  watering-place  in  England 
would  be  ashamed  of  the  comparison.  I  pointed  out 
the  fact  that  gas-lights  had  been  allowed.  He  did  not 
seem  to  think  that  any  wonderful  superiority.  "  We 
are  now  coming  to  the  great  street  of  Rome,  the  Re- 
gent Street,  Strand,  Oxford  Street,  and  Westboume 
Terrace  all  in  one — the  Corso."  He  communicated  this 
great  fact  to  his  fri.nd    nit.l  ^u^i]^  looked  out  for  the 


KOME  IN   HOLY  WEEK.  289 

grand  street.  After  a  while  he  said,  "  The  Corso  is  the 
great  street?"  I  replied,  "Yes,  the  only  one  that  is 
permitted  the  dignity  of  a  side  pavement."  But  scarce- 
ly had  I  used  the  words  when  I  had  to  cry,  "  Well, 
I  declare!  the  foot-pavement  is  extended  beyond  the 
Corso ;  here  is  some  here."  But  in  a  moment  we  were 
crossing  a  street  like  a  hundred  that  might  be  picked 
out  of  other  cities,  and  I  said,  "  That  is  the  Corso." 
The  good  Catholic  took  a  long  look  at  the  high  houses 
and  narrow  way,  at  the  passable  shops  and  shoals  of 
shovel  hats,  and  he  replied,  "  That's  the  Corso."  Sack- 
ville  Street  was  in  his  eye. 

The  Yia  Condotti !  full  of  English  men  and  women, 
and  lined  with  shops  for  trinkets,  silks,  and  works  of 
art.  Pretty  things !  What  a  trade  in  them  might  be 
done  with  England,  if  matters  were  well  managed ! 

In  the  Piazza  di  Spagna  my  comrade  asks,  "  What  is 
that  ?"  pointing  to  a  pillar.  "  That  is  the  great  achieve- 
ment of  the  present  Pope ;  the  column  of  the  Immac- 
ulate Conception :  he  has  added  a  pillar  to  Rome  and 
an  article  to  the  faith." 

We  set  off  for  the  Capitol.  The  coachman  was  a 
shrewd  fellow,  and  I  rode  on  the  box  for  the  sake  of 
talk.  We  passed  that  fine  old  column  of  Antoninus, 
which  now,  as  the  inscription  tells,  is  purged  from  all 
heathenism,  and  converted  into  a  good  Christian  pillar, 
with  the  statue  of  an  apostle  replacing  that  of  an  em- 
peror. Then  came  the  Forum  of  Trajan,  and  its  grand 
old  column  too,  like  the  other,  covered  Avith  rich  sculp- 


290  ITALY  IN  TEANSmON. 

ture ;  and  at  its  foot  that  jDicturesque  group  of  broken 
pillars,  serving  only  to  tell  that  once  this  spot  was 
thronged  with  life,  and  shadowed  with  magnificence. 
Round  about,  houses,  with  "  washing"  hanging  out  of 
the  windows,  churches,  beggars,  French  soldiers,  Papal 
gens  cVarmes^  and  foreigners  in  carriages.  A  Uttle  way 
up  is  the  Quirinal,  the  Pope's  second  palace,  a  beautiful 
abode  in  fine  taste,  wdth  noble  gardens.  The  first  day  I 
saw  it  "washing"  was  hanging  out  of  eleven  windows, 
and  the  second  day  out  of  seven. 

As  to  the  gens  cVarmes^  they  never  appeared  alone ; 
always  a  patrol  of  five  or  six  together.  The  papal 
soldiers,  too,  with  the  blue  coat  and  red  pantaloons  of 
the  French,  were  so  much  like  them  that  it  was  hard  to 
distinguish.  On  the  hat,  instead  of  the  outspread  eagle, 
you  had  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  peace  and  the  tiara 
of  Christ's  vicar.  Squads  of  gens  cVarmes  and  squads 
of  priests  seemed  the  only  thing  noticeable ;  the  former 
a  sign  of  terror  in  the  government,  the  latter  a  sign  of 
Holy  Week. 

Last  night  a  tradesman  had  surprised  me  by  reply- 
ing to  some  simple  question  about  the  state  of  things  in 
Rome  in  a  tone  of  loud  complaint.  We  had  given  no 
sign  of  our  opinions ;  yet,  unlike  the  caution  I  had 
found  at  a  previous  visit,  oflf  he  w^ent.  "  Every  thing 
is  in  a  miserable  condition :  no  work  for  the  poor,  no 
trade  for  the  shopkeepers,  no  hope  for  any  one  but  the 
priests."  I  said  something  to  the  eflTect  that  they  must 
find  a  friend  in  "the  Holy  Father."     '' Saiito  Padre P' 


EOME  IN   HOLY  WEEK.  291 

he  said,  as  an  Orangeman  might  say  it;  '•'•Santo  Padre! 
the  poor  people  now  cry  in  his  ears,  '  Holy  Father  and 
dear  bread !     Holy  Father  and  dear  bread !'  " 

«  Yoii  don't  mean  that  ?" 

"  Mean  it !  that  I  do— ah !" 

In  keeping  with  this  were  the  remarks  of  the  coach- 
man, as  the  priests  passed  in  troops  with  that  wonder- 
ful variety  of  the  species  which  Home  alone  can  show 
— black,  brown,  white,  and  gray ;  now  with  hoods,  now 
with  cords,  now  with  red  and  blue  crosses,  now  with 
the  step  of  a  potentate,  now  with  the  box  of  a  beggar ; 
one  lean  with  penance,  another  rosy  with  rm-al  health, 
another  gross  with  sloth  and  feeding ;  now  in  the  prel- 
ate's purple,  now  in  the  dirt  of  a  pauper ;  some  appear- 
ing learned,  pure,  and  grave;  many  commonplace  and 
content,  not  a  few  polished  men  of  upper  life,  and  a 
great  multitude  coarse  and  low,  with  no  more  light  of 
intellect  or  grace  upon  their  countenances  than  on  those 
of  their  brothers  who  hold  the  plow  or  infest  the  high- 
way. With  a  few  fine  exceptions  of  men  with  open, 
benign  human  faces,  they  all  look  like  dark  and  lonely 
men,  isolated  tools  of  Rome,  watchmen  who  walk  in 
the  dark  and  spy  out  all  men's  ways. 

As  I  asked  questions  about  this  order  and  that,  the 
coachman  gradually  got  angry.  "  The  people  can  bear 
it  no  longer ;  this  government  of  priests  is  horrid. 
They  have  brought  us  all  to  starvation,  and  they  swarm 
like  flies,  and  eat  and  drink."  For  any  thing  that  had 
passed,  I  might  have  been  a  zealous  Cathohc ;  and  this 


292  ITALY    IN   TEANSITIOX. 

outburst,  corresponding  with  what  I  had  heard  last 
night,  and  contrasting  with  the  reserve  of  former  years, 
took  me  by  surprise. 

So,  in  talking  of  the  late  affair  between  the  people 
and  the  gens  cfarmes^  all  was  outspoken  rancor.  Two 
men,  curriers,  had  been  arrested  just  because  they  were 
known  to  be  Liberals.  The  people  hissed.  French  po- 
lice moved ;  and,  encouraged  by  this  support,  the  joapal 
gens  d^annes^  with  drawn  swords,  rushed  on  and  slash- 
ed away  with  the  flat  of  the  sword,  say  they ;  but  forty 
or  fifty  people  were  wounded,  and  some  have  died.  I 
put  down  the  number  that  seems  to  have  most  votes ; 
for  many  talked  of  it,  and  the  estimate  varied  greatly. 

Amid  such  talk  we  wound  through  the  poor  streets 
lying  between  the  Forum  of  Trajan  and  the  grand  old 
spot,  the  Forum  Romanum.  The  coachman  now  and 
then  stopped  before  a  ruin.  Now  to  the  top  of  the 
tower  of  the  Capitol.  There  are  the  grand  old  Sabine 
Hills,  with  Tivoli's  white  houses  glistening  on  their 
sides.  Then  your  eye,  crossing  the  valley,  rests  on  the 
Alban  chain.  Frascati  is  plain  enough,  with  its  per- 
petual memento  of  Cicero,  eloquence,  and  philosophic 
discourse ;  and  Castel  Gondolfo  is  plain,  and  the  knoll 
imder  which  lies  Albano.  Right  and  left  spreads  the 
Campagna — on  the  right  merging  its  vast  flat  in  a  ho- 
rizon that  looks  like  sea-shore,  without  showing  water ; 
on  the  left  running  up  to  the  blue  hills ;  on  both  sides 
waste,  no  smoke  of  towns,  no  sign  of  villages,  no  stir 
of  men;  the  gaimt  old  forms  of  Roman  aqueducts  stalk- 


EOME  IN   HOLY  WEEK.  293 

ing  over  the  Frascati  side  of  the  plain,  and  at  other 
points  a  stern  fragment,  as  if  the  rusting  armor  of  the 
dead  giants.  Near  he  the  typical  heaps  of  Rome's 
memorials,  the  Baths  of  Caracalla,  the  Palace  of  the 
Caesars,  the  swelling  bulk  of  the  Colosseum.  Nearer, 
the  Arch  of  Constantine,  that  of  Titus,  the  Yia  Sacra, 
and,  just  below,  the  Roman  Forum,  with  its  fragments 
of  ancient  temples,  and  its  one  entire  arch.  Three  col- 
umns here,  two  there,  half  a  dozen  yonder,  a  few  bases 
in  one  place,  a  pavement  in  another,  and  a  name  for 
each,  are  all  that  remains  to  tell  how  grand  was  this 
spot  some  lifetimes  ago.  But  few  of  the  stones  are 
left,  and  none  of  the  men. 

One  looks  down  from  that  height  along  that  famous 
way  where  these  spectre  temples  and  mouldering  bones 
of  palaces  call  up  the  memory  of  life  by  the  sight  of 
death's  handiwork.  And  how  one  looks  and  looks,  and 
goes  on  looking,  the  eye  wandering  from  the  hill  of  the 
Palaces  to  the  Titanic  heap  of  the  Baths,  and  then  to 
the  Colosseum,  still  sending  up  a  cry  of  heathen  mirth 
and  Christian  agony,  and  then  to  the  Arch  of  Titus, 
under  which  Jerusalem  sits  and  weeps,  while  old  Rome 
triumphs ! 

How  strange  that  among  all  the  historic  ruins  of  pa- 
gan times  the  idea  now  represented  by  living  men  is 
always  a  Bible  one !  Among  the  Pyramids,  Moses — in 
Nineveh,  the  Hebrew  Kings — at  Athens,  the  preaching 
Paul — here  in  Rome,  the  golden  candlestick  of  the  Tem- 
ple, the  unrecorded  martyrs  of  the  Colosseum.     What 


294  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

they  believed  in  lives,  and  yearly  grows  younger  and 
stronger;  but  the  beliefs  against  which  they  stood  up 
have  passed  away. 

After  the  great  ruins,  immediately  under  one,  the  eye 
seeks  out  the  seven  hills.  There  is  the  old  Aventine 
close  by  the  Tiber,  with  its  crowning  convent,  a  real 
mount ;  and  there,  nearer,  the  Palatine,  cradle  of  Rome 
and  cinder-heap  of  her  imperial  halls,  with  the  odd  in- 
truder under  its  flank,  a  round,  tall  chimney,  of  un- 
mistakable Manchester  family,  the  English  gas-works. 
These  two  are  plain  enough;  so  is  the  Capitoline  on 
which  we  stand ;  so,  yonder,  far  on  the  left,  is  the  Qui- 
rinal,  crowned  Avith  that  long,  straight  range  of  build- 
ings, the  Pope's  palace ;  and  between  it  and  the  Pala- 
tine, the  other  three,  Yiminal,  Esquiline,  Cailian,  though 
not  traceable  as  mounts,  are  distinguishable  as  regions, 
and  may  be  marked  by  the  Lateran  Basilica  with  its 
grenadier  statues,  by  the  two  domes  of  Santa  Maria 
Maggiore,  and  by  the  line  thence  to  the  Quirinal. 

The  modern  city  comes  next.  Across  the  Tiber  the 
high  Janiculan,  and,  beyond,  the  dome-topped  Vatican, 
closing  Rome  tightly  in  with  liigh  land ;  then  the  mass 
of  St.  Angelo,  and  the  lofty  heights  of  the  Pincian, 
and,  between,  the  little  wilderness  of  tiles,  towers,  and 
domes,  almost  hiding  the  grand  outline  of  the  Pantheon, 
and  traversed  by  the  rapid  lonely  Tiber.  No  gay  boat 
sporting  on  his  bosom,  he  travels  on,  like  a  strong  old 
grandfather  on  whose  knees  there  are  no  children  to 
play. 


EOME  I^  HOLY  WEEK.  295 

What  an  enchanting  light,  making  common  forms 
lovely !  What  a  mass  of  historic  recollections !  What 
grandeur  of  natural  outline !  What  wealth  of  ancient 
remains!  and  yet  Avhat  absence  of  artificial  beauty! 
The  one  grand  dome  on  the  Vatican  Hill  is  the  only 
fair  form  of  art  on  which  the  eye  rests.  That  of  the 
Pantheon  is  smothered;  the  ruins  are  not  beauty, but 
poetry  in  another  form.  Where  arc  the  spires  of  En- 
gland, the  porticoes  of  Paris,  the  minarets  of  Cairo,  the 
Campanili  of  Italy !  These  church  towers  are  shapeless 
and  graceless ;  poor,  viewed  from  the  ground ;  wretch- 
ed, from  above.  The  minor  domes  are  not  large  enough 
to  produce  an  effect.  Few  cities,  with  such  a  site  and 
such  a  heaven,  would  look  so  ragged  and  so  destitute 
of  sky-going  beauty.  Still  the  light,  that  spring  of  all 
loveliness,  makes  even  the  modern  city  pleasant  to  the 
eye.  How  long  one  could  look!  How  much  one 
would  like  to  be  here  a  whole  day  alone !  While  in- 
dulging this  thought  the  first  time,  the  silence  was  bro- 
ken by  an  American  voice,  saying,  "  How  crooked  the 
Tiber  is !" 

In  the  evening  I  began  to  say  something  to  Maria, 
the  servant,  a  sensible  woman,  about  the  people  com- 
plaining. "  Oh,"  she  cried,  "  it  is  nothing  but  sorrow 
and  outcry.  The  people  are  all  in  wretchedness.  They 
say  it  is  the  priests  who  do  it  all.  They  say  they  must 
have  a  new  religion,  and  that  every  thing  is  to  be 
changed.  But  for  the  moment  things  are  quiet.  I 
don't  know — we  are  all  suffering;  and  we  are  all  igno- 


296  ITALY  IN  TKAXSITION. 

rant  and  wicked.  Your  people  pray ;  but  in  Rome  very 
few  of  us  ever  pray."  (I  suppose  she  had  seen  our 
family  prayer.)  "  We  are  all  growing  brutish.  I'm  a 
poor  woman  that  can  neither  read  nor  write ;  I  come 
from  the  Sabine  Hills.  I  lost  my  father  and  mother, 
and  all  my  brothers  and  sisters^but  one  sister — and  I 
had  to  come  to  Rome  to  find  service.  I  have  been  in 
this  house  ever  since — twelve  years.  I  got  married 
because  they  told  me  he  was  a  hard-working  young 
man,  who  would  get  me  a  morsel  of  bread.  But  he 
can't  support  me.  I'm  obliged  to  be  in  service  all  the 
same.  I  have  been  forced  to  pawn  even  the  rings  out 
of  my  ears.  But  my  husband  has  got  work  now.  IIo 
is  a  cook.  This  has  been  a  sad  year  for  cooks — so  few 
foreigners ;  but  he  is  now  employed  by  the  friars  of 

Church." 

"  By  the  friars !     Do  they  need  a  cook  ?" 
"Ah  !  it's  they  that  do— don't  they  eat !" 
"  They  eat  only  plain,  penitential  dishes  ?" 
"  Oh,  fancy  !  something  else  than  that.     They  eat  the 
best  that  can  be  cooked — sweets  of  all  sorts." 

At  the  Lateran,  leaving  the  Basilica  for  the  moment, 
we  turned  to  the  neighboring  building  which  covers  the 
Holy  Stair.  It  is  a  very  considerable  structure.  There 
are  three  parallel  staircases,  the  ones  on  the  right  and 
left  being  the  liumble  attendants  of  the  sacred  one  in 
the  middle,  by  which  the  vulgar  may  go  up,  or  the  j^il- 
grim,  after  his  reverential  ascent,  come  down.  In  ap- 
pearance the  Holy  Stair  docs  not  differ  from  the  others. 


EOME  IN  HOLY  WEEK.  297 

But  see !  one,  two,  three  ;  men  and  women,  gentlemen 
and  ladies,  townsfolk,  peasants,  and  at  least  two  soldiers 
— French  soldiers  they  appear,  but  the  Pope's  wear  the 
same  uniform — from  the  lower  steps  up  to  the  top,  all 
on  their  knees,  all  more  or  less  uttering  prayers,  all 
pressing  upward,  the  greater  part  patiently  and  honest- 
ly, some  dodging  and  making  the  feet  save  the  knees, 
some  urging  forward  in  hot  haste,  some  stopping  on 
each  step  to  repeat  a  prayer,  some  looking  up  intently 
to  the  "  Holy  of  Holies"  at  the  top.  Thirty  human  be- 
ings going  through  this  process !  and  they  part  only  of 
a  great  stream  running  the  whole  week.  Luther  was 
once  there.  Don't  despise  them;  they  may  be  as  sin- 
cerely seeking  God  as  he  was.  Don't  despair  of  them ; 
they  may  be  as  near  receiving  a  better  light. 

It  was  on  that  stair,  up  there  somewhere  near  the 
top,  perhaps  where  that  lady  is  toiling,  that  the  voice 
from  above  sounded  in  the  ear  of  the  sturdy  yet  peni- 
tent monk, 

"  The  Just  shall  live  by  Faith." 
It  was  there  that  the  ever  memorable  illapse  of  heaven's 
light  fell  upon  that  soul,  and  that,  as  he  himself  tells,  the 
gates  of  Paradise  seemed  to  open.  Moment  never  for- 
gotten in  the  heart  of  Luther  !  Moment  ever  to  be  re- 
membered in  the  history  of  Home  and  of  the  universal 
Church !  May  the  same  Spirit  raise  up  many  similar 
instruments  in  our  days  and  in  this  place ! 

The  stairs,  though,  at  first  sight,  like  the  others,  are 
soon  seen  to  be  covered  with  a  case  of  wood,  leaving 

:n'2 


298  ITALY   IX  TKAXSITIOX. 

the  inner  and  holy  stair  to  appear  in  open  spaces,  some 
of  which  are  stained  with  the  hlood  of  the  Redeemer. 
The  stair  is  that  which  he  descended  from  Pilate's  judg- 
ment seat ! 

Hence  we  pass  to  the  top,  where  is  a  little  dark  chap- 
el, closed  up,  "  The  Holy  of  Holies :"  you  can  see  through 
a  grating,  and  read  a  Latin  inscription  to  the  effect  that 
there  is  not  upon  earth  a  spot  more  holy.  No  woman 
may  enter !  It  contains  a  picture  by  St.  LuJce — an  exact 
likeness  of  the  Savior  when  twelve  years  old. 

While  looking  at  the  door  which  leads  into  the  spot 
where  the  table  is  kept  on  which  the  Last  Supper  was 
eaten,  we  found  a  sacristan  willing  to  oj^en  and  show  it. 
Just  after  we  had  seen,  up  came  a  party.     It  was  the 

Prince  of  C ,  with  some  ladies  ;  a  canon  j^relate,  in 

purple  and  ermine,  was  soon  in  attendance,  and,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  Sa7itissima  table,  showed  a  splendid  glass 
box,  set  in  gold,  which  contained  a  morsel  of  the  napkin 
used  by  our  Lord  at  the  Supper.  After  he  had  finished 
with  his  party,  he  most  politely  asked  us  to  walk  in,  and 
told  the  man  to  show  us.  It  was  hard  to.  see  ;  for  tlie 
cell  was  dark,  and  the  glass  sparkled  in  the  candlelight. 
Still,  a  morsel  of  whitish  something  was  visible  inside 
the  casket,  and  the  custode  reverently  averred  that  it 
was  a  true  piece  of  the  very  napkin  used  by  our  Lord. 

Hence  we  went  to  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross  in 
Jerusalem,  where  is  a  true  and  undoubted  piece  of  the 
cross.  There  was  more  than  the  usual  crowd  of  beg- 
gars, more  than  the  usual  display  of  flowers — and  very 


ROME  IN  HOLY  WEEK.  299 

beautiful  they  were — and  brilliant  lights,  and  the  floors 
strewed  with  leaves  and  blossoms,  and  poor  old  folk 
half  praying,  half  staring,  and  now  and  then  chatting 
and  begging  in  the  usual  way ;  but  the  true  piece  of  the 
true  cross  was  not  then  to  be  seen. 

Next,  to  St.  Mary  the  Greater,  less  holy  as  a  church, 
grander  as  an  edifice.  How  fine  its  nave,  with  the  long 
colonnade !  and  those  two  side  chapels  are  exquisite. 
The  altar  of  jasper  is  in  itself  a  work  to  wonder  at  for  a 
long  time. 

It  is  the  hour  of  vespers.  Canons  in  purple  and  er- 
mine ;  minor  canons  in  purple  and  squirrel  hoods,  priests 
in  all  colors,  and  singers  in  splendor,  crowd  the  choir. 
Friars  brown,  black,  and  white,  spot  the  church  here 
and  there.  Counting  all  these,  you  have  the  bulk  of 
the  audience.  How  can  this  be  ?  In  London,  the  an- 
nouncement of  such  a  musical  entertainment  would  se- 
cure multitudes  at  large  prices ;  here,  beggars  excepted, 
there  are  not  sixty  laity  of  Rome  present.  The  singing 
is  very  fine ;  but  when  the  Miserere  begins,  it  is  some- 
thing indescribably  beautiful.  The  rise  and  cadence  of 
that  artistic  wail  through  those  domes  and  colonnades 
is  almost  supernatural ;  and  all  the  human  voice  !  and 
all  male  voices ;  for,  in  the  prudery  of  Rome,  women 
may  not  sing  in  church  choirs. 

What  a  mystery  is  music — invisible,  yet  making  the 
eye  shine ;  intangible,  yet  making  all  the  nerves  vibrate ; 
floating  between  earth  and  heaven;  falling  upon  this 
world  as  if  a  strain  from  that  above,  ascending  to  that 


300  ITALY   IN  TKANSITION. 

as  a  thank-offering  from  ours !  It  is  God's  gift,  and  is 
too  lofty  for  any  thing  but  His  praise ;  too  near  to  the 
immaterial  to  be  made  the  minister  of  sordid  pleasure ; 
too  clearly  destined  to  mount  upward  to  be  used  for 
inclining  hearts  to  earth.  Oh  that  the  Churches  knew 
how  to  sing,  making  music  a  joy,  a  triumph,  a  sun- 
shine song  of  larks,  as  well  as  a  midnight  song  of 
nightingales ! 

The  long-talked-of  excommunication  is  issued.  It 
has  been  posted  up  in  the  public  places  of  Rome,  and 
it  is  to  be  bought  for  a  few  baiocchi.  All  say  it  has 
produced  no  more  effect  than  so  many  shovelfuls  of 
peas  thrown  among  the  people.  Romans  are  so  much 
accustomed  to  find  misery  and  crime  flourish  on  soils 
bedewed  with  papal  benedictions,  and  to  hear  of  peace, 
virtue,  and  liberty  in  countries  scorched,  not  to  say 
burnt  up,  with  its  curses,  that  they  have  reached  a  state 
of  mind  wherein  the  one  and  the  other  go  for  the  value 
of  the  shows  wherewith  their  utterance  is  accompanied. 
In  this  case  it  was  thunder  and  thunderbolt,  hurled  in- 
deed by  the  Jove  of  the  Vatican  with  his  own  red 
right  hand,  amid  the  flames  of  cardinal  scarlet  and  the 
roar  of  ecclesiastical  storms,  but,  unlike  the  jDotent 
Joves  of  other  times,  who  marked  their  man,  and  hit 
his  helmet  if  they  did  not  crusli  his  body,  the  present 
poor  old  thunderer,  fearful  that  the  after-clap  might  fall 
upon  the  Vatican,  closed  his  eyes  as  lie  lanched  the 
bolt,  and,  without  aiming  at  any  one  in  particular,  fa- 
vored a  whole  nntion  or  two  in  ironornl  Avifli  n  curse. 


EOME   IN  HOLY   WEEK.  301 

What !  no  one  named  ?  ISTot  a  man.  A  curse  with- 
out a  head  designated  for  it  to  rest  upon  ?  Even  so.  A 
few  millions  of  infected  caps,  each  carrying  eternal 
death  to  the  wearer,  cast  among  a  nation  for  every  one 
who  thinks  one  will  fit  to  put  it  on  ?  Exactly.  Not 
one  marked  for  the  sacrilegious  head  of  Victor  Emanu- 
el? "No.  !N^or  for  the  fiend  of  all  malice,  Cavour? 
Not  even  for  him.  Ugly  words  about  the  "govern- 
ment" of  Sardinia;  but  a  government  is  not  a  soul, 
and  no  soul  is  marked  out  by  name  as  heir  special  of 
Rome's  last  curse.  The  bomb  is  fired,  the  piece  has  re- 
coiled, the  shell  has  burst  in  high  air,  and  curious  peo- 
ple are  examining  the  fragments.     JEJcco  ! 

What  an  approach  is  that  to  St.  Peter's !  First  a 
f,'rand  "circus,"  larger  than  those  in  Regent  Street, 
formed  by  two  crescent  colonnades  of  stately  height ; 
then  a  square  flanked  by  colonnades;  and  then  the 
long,  easy  "steps ;  and  finally  the  front  of  the  Basilica. 
But  this  disappoints  one.  It  has  none  of  the  grace  of 
pure  Grecian,  or  of  the  soaring  splendors  of  Gothic,  and 
lacks  even  the  j)rettiness  of  good  Italian.  The  stone 
looks  rough,  the  design  ill  composed,  with  small  win- 
dows ;  and  the  huge  bulk  of  the  Vatican,  overtopping 
it  like  a  Manchester  warehouse,  dwarfs  it  as  to  height, 
ai?d  destroys  all  idea  of  harmony. 

Inside,  first  a  grand  vestibule ;  then  bursts  on  the  eye 
the  resplendent  temple,  full  of  light,  and  glowing  with 
every  color  that  marble  ever  displayed.  Under  your 
feet  marble — right,  left,  marble — white,  red,  green,  vari- 


302  ITALY  IN  TEANSinON-. 

egated;  in  statues,  in  walls,  in  columns,  niches,  and 
piles :  mosaics  and  marble,  marble  and  mosaics,  gild- 
ing and  carving,  curious  work,  and  Titanic  propor- 
tions; vastness,  and  beauty,  and  pomp!  "What  do 
you  think  of  it  ?"  You  have  had  no  time  to  think  of 
it ;  you  arc  only  feehng  a  rush  of  sensations,  as  yet  not 
reflected  on.  You  reach  the  great  altar,  which  does 
make  a  distinct  impression — of  the  grotesque.  But  the 
dome !  the  dome !  You  are  fairly  overwhelmed.  You 
first  gaze,  then  rest,  then  gaze  again ;  then  lie  down  on 
your  back,  and  look  up  and  up,  and  wonder  at  the  pow- 
er of  thought  to  conceive  and  embody  such  an  idea ; 
and  then  wonder  more  that  you  should  feel  so  much 
under  this  small  dome,  because  it  is  man's  handiwork, 
and  often  so  little  under  the  great  one  just  above  it,  be- 
cause it  is  the  work  of  your  own  Maker. 

Presently  you  turn  and  look  back;  the  nave  is  no 
length — so  it  seems ;  and  it  ends  meanly  in  a  wall,  with 
a  few  pilasters  and  small  windows.  It  is  a  bold  word 
to  say  "  meanly,"  but  one  must  report  one's  own  im- 
pressions. Some,  speaking  of  this  apparent  shortness 
of  the  nave,  call  it  "  perfection,  the  result  of  the  fault- 
less proportions."  To  make  great  look  little,  perfec- 
tion !  Apply  this  to  the  dome ;  are  its  proportions  bad  ? 
Yet  it  makes  the  full  impression  of  its  majestic  bulk. 
If  it  looked  small,  being  as  large  as  it  is,  would  it  not  be 
a  fault  ?  It  is  not  that  the  whole  of  the  building  looks 
so  much  less  than  is  natural,  as  seems  generally  as- 
sumed :  for  the  dome  has  full  effect.     It  is  the  other 


EOME  11^  HOLY  WEEK,  303 

parts,  chiefly  the  nave.  Murray  accounts  for  the  mini- 
fied ajDpearance  partly  by  the  gigantic  statuary,  which 
takes  off  from  the  size  of  the  buildiug.  This  might  af- 
fect the  height,  but  hardly  the  length.  And  if  you  so 
stand  that  the  statues  are  covered  in  their  niches,  it  is 
just  the  same.  What  is  it,  then  ?  Laughed  at  or  not, 
here  is  what  one's  own  eye  says :  It  is  a  fault  in  pro- 
portion. 

Stand  at  the  great  altar  facing  the  entrance.  What 
are  you  looking  into  ?  A  tunnel  of  stone ;  colored, 
polished,  sculptured,  glowing,  uplifted  stone ;  but  still 
a  tunnel,  with  petty  windows  at  the  end.  Only  four 
arches  in  all  the  length  of  that  nave,  and  of  those  but 
one  shows  an  opening  to  your  eye.  Through  it  you 
see — but  not  light — only  stone  !  As  to  the  other  three, 
you  can  tell  where  they  are ;  but  the  eye  strikes  against 
the  pier  beyond  them  without  any  opening.  One  space 
to  take  off  the  eye  from  the  direct  line,  one  breaking  in 
of  air  and  light  upon  the  nave — all  the  rest  stone,  stone 
— a  tunnel.  This  results  from  the  proportion  between 
the  pier  and  the  arch.  One  arch  is  separated  from  an- 
other by  a  pier  of  thirteen  to  fifteen  paces  long !  The 
pillar  is  not  seen  in  the  place  as  a  support ;  it  is  totally 
dismissed.  Columns  are  used  to  ornament  piers  and 
walls,  but  an  upholding  pillar  is  not  there ;  the  pier  has 
entirely  superseded  it.  The  gigantic  size  of  these  piers 
drowns  the  arches,  shuts  out  the  air  and  light,  prevents 
the  eye  from  seeing  marks  of  distance,  and  foreshortens 
the  whole.     This  is  the  simple  account  of  a  non-artistic 


304  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

eye ;  and  if  any  one  choose  to  go  from  St.  Peter's  to 
three  other  basilicas — Santa  Maria  Maggiore,  and  St. 
Paul's,  where  the  use  of  the  pillar,  in  a  long  colonnade, 
produces  a  lengthening  effect,  and  then  St.  John's  Lat- 
eran,  where  the  pier  of  St.  Peter's  is  imitated,  he  will, 
perhaps,  be  inchned  to  think  that  the  proportion  between 
wall  and  open  space  has  something  to  do  in  the  matter. 

It  was  hard  to  beUeve  my  wife,  that  much  of  the 
brilliant  surface  of  the  interior  was  painted  plaster. 
The  impression  of  its  being  one  various  mass  of  mar- 
bles has  so  much  to  do  with  the  effect,  that  at  first  you 
feel  incredulous,  then  half  angry.  But  so  it  is.  The 
deception  is  perfect ;  pillars,  angles,  bases,  and  project- 
ing parts  are  real ;  flat  surfaces  sometimes  so,  but  often 
plaster.  This  statement  was  resented  by  some  gentle- 
men at  the  taUe  cVhote^  as  if  it  had  been  something  said 
against  their  mothers;  and  a  lady,  to  whom  the  secret 
was  disclosed  in  the  Cathedral,  rushing  to  the  extreme 
of  disappointment,  cried,  "  Shabby  place !"  Even  some 
Romans  were  unaware  of  the  fact.  Still,  the  interior 
remains  a  wonder  of  riches  and  beauty ;  for  a  military 
pomp,  such  as  that  of  Easter  Sunday,  an  incomparable 
theatre ;  and,  as  a  repository  of  art,  sufficient  for  months 
of  study,  though  it  suffers  in  value  from  the  fly-away 
style  of  the  statuary. 

On  Holy  Thursday  we  made  for  the  Sistine  Chapel 
in  the  Vatican :  on  the  colonnaded  and  vaulted  stair- 
case of  marble  which  leads  up  to  it  stand  Swiss  guards 
in  their  harlequin  red,  yellow,  and  blue  stripes,  while 


HOME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  305 

red  cardinals,  purple  prelates,  velvet  and  silk  courtiers, 
gay  gentlemen,  and  richly-dressed  ladies,  crowd  the 
steps  in  an  upward  stream.  Helmets  and  halberds  at 
the  chapel  door.  Men  standing;  women  seated  on  a 
side  platform  (by  ticket)  ;  a  vacant  platform  on  the 
other  side  for  the  diplomatic  circle,  and  another  for 
"  reigning  families ;"  priests  in  frocks  and  robes  of  hues 
and  materials  numberless.  Such  is  the  sight  in  the 
Pope's  own  holy  place  of  prayer !  The  crowd  steadily 
thickens.  Ladies  of  note  are  ushered  in  by  robed  offi- 
cials. Every  now  and  then,  a  steel  box  or  coat  of  ar- 
mor, with  the  shoulders  of  a  Swiss  giant  inside  to  work 
it,  crunches  its  way  through  the  crowd,  forcing  s]3ace 
for  a  cardinal  or  a  dame.  I  never  before  saw  the  use 
of  those  steel  boxes,  but  they  are  excellent  instruments, 
when  worked  by  good  shoulders,  for  compelling  prog- 
ress through  a  reluctant  mass  of  human  beings.  This 
exercise  was  varied  with  chat  in  all  European  tongues, 
none  of  it  reverent,  all  about  the  music,  dresses,  and 
shows  of  the  week. 

N'ow  come  the  great  planets  of  diplomacy  with  their 
belts  and  satellites,  w^ondrous  to  behold.  Around  them 
is  a  host  of  asteroids,  each  having  its  own  orbit  to  shine 
in.  What  a  galaxy  of  stars  when  all  are  put  together ! 
Dear  me !  in  the  dimmer  sky  of  our  northern  realm  it 
would  take  centuries  to  witness  such  conjunctions, 
transits,  parallaxes,  nutations,  risings,  settings,  occulta- 
tions,  eclipses,  and  revolutions.  What  a  mighty  influ- 
ence all  these  stars  must  exercise  upon  the  destiny  of 


306  ITALY  IIT  TEAXSinON. 

US  poor  mortals,  who  live  down  here,  eighteen  inches 
lower  than  the  plane  on  which  these  are  revolving. 
There  is  truth  in  astrology  after  all !  Some  of  my 
neighbors  are  trying  to  read  their  fortune  in  the  beams 
of  certain  stars.  One  youth  thinks  that  the  grand  con- 
stellation Goyon,  in  comparison  with  which  "  Orion's 
studded  belt  was  dim,"  had  shot  a  ray  of  encourage- 
ment. He  makes  desperate  efforts  to  reach  the  high 
sky ;  but,  just  at  the  last  moment,  is  pushed  back 
among  us  terrestrials  with  a  surly  protest,  "I  know 
General  Goyon."  Perhaps  so ;  but  the  constellation 
shone  on  serenely  in  spite  of  his  rebuff. 

The  higher  post  for  reigning  families  remained  va- 
cant till  nearly  the  last,  when  a  Russian  archduchess 
and  her  brilliant  suite  appeared. 

By  this  time  the  pressure  was  terrible,  the  scuffles 
frequent  and  rough — worse  than  in  a  London  crowd, 
and  the  principal  talk  was,  "Well,  I  hope  we  are  to 
have  good  music  after  all  this."  Now  and  then  you 
did  see  a  woman  on  her  knees  praying,  looking  round, 
and  adjusting  her  veil  or  scarf  all  at  the  same  time. 
One  elderly  lady,  at  the  very  front  of  the  women's 
benches,  seemed  for  some  minutes  in  earnest  and  heart- 
broken prayer. 

Steel  clattering  in  the  cuirasses,  steel  shining  in  the 
helmets,  steel  held  up  aloft  in  the  halberds,  with  sol- 
diers' plumes  waving,  and  the  deep  buzz,  ruzz,  duzz  ol" 
the  crowd,  were  not  sights  and  sounds  of  a  very  devo- 
tional kind.     Xow  another  squeeze  of  the  steel  boxes, 


EOME   I^q-  HOLY  WEEK.  307 

and  forward  come  a  few  of  the  NoUe  Guards  with  hel- 
met on,  pkime  wavmg,  and  sioord  drawn. 

La !  sol !  fa !  the  mass  has  begun :  out  it  strikes  in 
different  forms  of  song  ;  now  low,  now  shrill,  now  roll- 
ing on  in  waves  of  music.  The  bass  was  a  low  hum  in 
the  crowd,  and  the  soprano  a  wonderful  man's  voice, 
concerning  which  a  thing  was  said  in  whispers  not  very- 
fit  to  hear  in  church,  and  not  at  all  fit  to  write  here. 

"  N'ot  equal  to  last  night,"  says  one.  "  There  is  only 
that  voice  worth  much,"  says  another ;  and  so  on  go  the 
remarks ;  the  incense  rises,  the  halberds  flash,  the  crowd 
buzzes,  and  the  gale  of  music  hurries,  slackens,  rises,  and 
dies  away. 

I  want  to  see  the  washing  of  the  apostles'  feet,  and 

so  Miss and  I  go  down  to  St.  Peter's,  while  the  rest 

stay  to  witness  the  procession  here. 

The  scene  is  very  curious  ;  soldiers  in  the  porch,  sol- 
diers in  the  nave,  people  walking,  chatting,  pointing, 
reading,  buzz,  buzz,  buzz.  Here  and  there  a  priest  or 
friar  on  his  knees.  A  large  inclosure  for  ladies  is  guard- 
ed by  gentlemen  of  the  chamber.     Here  I  place  Miss 

,  and  then  choose  my  position.     It  is  in  the  right 

transept,  near  the  end.  Just  before  me  is  the  Pope's 
throne,  high  and  lifted  up.  The  triple  crown  rests  on 
the  crossed  keys,  and  lions  hold  on  high  the  "  banners 
of  the  Church,"  which  are  but  flags  of  a  prince.  Ui^on 
a  globe  Providence  is  seated,  with  Justice  on  one  side 
and  Charity  on  the  other. 

Gradually  prelates  in  purple  arrive  through  a  side 


308  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

door,  and  spread  themselves  over  the  seats  and  steps  in 
the  neisrhborhood  of  the  throne. 

o 

Thh-teen  priests  of  different  nations  are  chosen  to  rep- 
resent the  apostles.  Why  are  they  thirteen  ?  This  is 
a  deej)  question,  and  is  settled  by  the  help  of  a  certain 
angel,  who  once  appeared  when  St.  Gregory  was  feed- 
ing twelve  poor  men.  How  it  is  proved  that  the  angel's 
feet  needed  to  be  washed,  I  do  not  know. 

They  come  at  last,  marshaled  by  dignitaries  in  pur- 
ple, themselves  in  white  caps,  like  those  of  dervishes, 
or,  for  non-traveled  readers,  like  linen  covers  for  Stilton 
cheeses ;  white  capes,  white  frocks,  white  trowsers,  and 
shining  white  boots  :  a  clean  and  quaint,  but  not  grace- 
ful costume. 

As  the  men  in  rich  robes  arrange  these  white  apos- 
tles on  their  bench,  the  people  around  me  have  their 
say.  "  That  is  an  Oriental !"  "  That  is  an  Armenian !" 
"  Look  at  the  third :  what  a  villain  he  aj)pears !"  "  Ay, 
but  look  at  the  fourth ;  did  you  ever  see  such  a  perfect 
type  of  the  hypocrite  ?"  "  That's  a  fine  old  fellow  with 
the  gray  beard ;"  this  referred  to  one  whom  I  could  al- 
most have  declared  I  knew,  he  looked  so  like  some  of 
the  priests  one  meets  in  the  Levant.  "  But  oli,  the  fat 
one!  See — see  the  fit  apostle!  In  the  middle,  too! 
"What  a  choice !  He's  a  Frenchman  that ;  not  a  very 
laborious  apostle !" 

These  things  were  said  in  Italian,  French,  and  En- 
glish ;  few  in  the  latter  tongue,  and  they  the  least  se- 
vere.    Wliilc  thus  the  observers  were  remarkinc^,  the 


EOME   IX   HOLY   WEEK.  309 

apostles  themselves  were  occupied  with  their  petticoats, 
putting  them  right  as  anxiously  as  a  barn-door  beauty 
in  the  drawing-room  of  a  countess.  While  all  but  smil- 
ing at  their  innocent  dressing,  a  fine  old  Belgian  priest, 
whom  I  had  two  or  three  times  spoken  to,  a  handsome, 
honest-looking  man,  turned  round  to  me,  and,  with  a 
beam  of  dehght  on  his  face,  said,  "  Oh,  is  it  not  an  inter- 
esting sight  ?"     To  him  it  was  grand. 

The  fat  apostle  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  pull- 
ed out  a  snuff-box.  It  was  bran  new,  perhaps  bought 
for  the  great  occasion,  perhaps  presented  by  some  of  his 
flock.  First  he  regaled  his  eyes  with  a  long  look  at  the 
bright  new  box.  Then  he  regaled  his  nose.  Then  the 
eyes  had  their  turn ;  and  betwixt  nose  and  eyes  no  con- 
test arose ;  both  were  treated ;  and  the  whole  person 
looked  supremely  content.  The  faithful,  too,  such  as 
they  were,  were  entertained. 

Some  of  the  apostles  seemed  to  try  sincerely  to  settle 
their  thoughts  to  a  j)rayer ;  but  I  doubt  whether  the 
best  of  them  got  on  much  better  than  William  of  Delo- 
raine  would  have  done.  It  was  too  exciting  for  ordi- 
nary minds  to  set  themselves  steady. 

Presently,  in  a  gallery  directly  opposite  to  the  apos- 
tles, appeared  embassadors  of  another  type ;  gentlemen 
whose  hands,  perhaps,  might  sometimes  need  to  be 
washed,  but  who  now  shone  in  faultless  decorations. 
"  That  is  our  embassador  with  the  red  ribbon  !"  cries 
one.  "  Which  is  the  Duke  de  Grammont  ?"  asks  an- 
other ;  and  so  a  fire  of  inquiries  and  recognitions  is  kept 
up  till  the  cardinals  begin  to  arrive. 


310  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

Each  lias  his  three  or  four  attendants,  who  proudly 
follow  him,  some  in  purple,  all  in  rich  robes,  he  himself 
wearing  scarlet  and  ermine.  "  Which  is  that  ?  and 
that  ?  and  that  ?  and  where  is  Antouelli  ?"  was  often 
asked.  At  last,  "  There  he  is !"  I  caught  sight  of  a 
tall  back  disappearing  between  a  stout  mass  of  scarlet 
and  a  pillar. 

Finally,  in  came  a  rush  of  priests,  with  the  Pope,  clos- 
ing him  round,  bearing  his  train,  and  following  him  up 
the  steps  till  he  took  his  seat  upon  the  throne.  It  Avas 
the  first  time  I  had  seen  Pio  Nono.  He  is  a  fine,  a  very 
fine  old  man — tall,  portly,  indeed  fat,  with  a  quick  step 
and  open  visage,  like  an  English  country  gentleman. 
The  face  beams  with  apparently  true  benignity,  but  the 
eye  is  not  easy,  and  the  smile  of  the  lips  is  not  unmixed 
with  a  disquiet  something  at  the  corners  of  the  mouth. 
Still,  he  is  a  noble  old  man ;  and,  looking  at  him,  one  is 
much  more  inclined  to  follow  the  common  idea  in  En- 
gland that  he  is  a  very  kind  and  sincere  one,  than  the 
representation  often  (by  no  means  always)  given  in 
Rome,  namely,  that  he  is  faithless,  unforgiving,  and  full 
of  vainglory.  Yet  even  they  who  say  that  give  him 
credit  for  sincerity  in  matters  of  religion,  and  for  disin- 
terestedness and  purity  of  manners. 

He  sits  upon  his  throne.  They  offer  him  a  censer, 
into  which  he  puts  incense;  they  take  off  his  mitre  and 
put  it  on ;  they  chant,  and  cross,  and  bow ;  read,  and 
with  reverence  hold  him  up  a  book  to  kiss ;  and  take 
the  censer,  and  Avave  the  incense  to  this   enthroned 


HOME  IN   HOLY   WEEK.  311 

priest,  in  his  royal  robe  of  rose-color  and  gold.  To 
him  all  eyes  turn ;  to  him  knees  bow ;  to  him  the  in- 
cense rises.  He  sits  upon  his  throne,  with  superhuman 
reverence  given  to  him;  and  look  at  his  countenance! 
Surely  this  is  not  a  human  being,  fresh  from  putting  ten 
millions  of  his  fellow-men,  ay,  of  his  own  neighbors  and 
countrymen,  outside  of  the  kingdom  of  God !  Where 
are  the  tears  and  traces  of  horror  lying  upon  his  soul  in 
connection  with  this  deed  ?  He  smiles,  and  smiles,  and 
smiles. 

Again,  with  knees  bowed,  the  attendant  dignitaries 
take  off  the  rich  rose-colored  robe,  and  disclose  a  beau- 
tiful white  dress.  With  fresh  bowing  of  the  knees,  a 
white  apron  is  girded  round  the  white  robe.  Then  the 
Pope,  preceded  and  followed  by  dignitaries,  hastens 
over  to  the  apostles.  Before  him  goes  a  cardinal,  with 
a  large  golden  ewer  in  his  hand.  Behind,  an  ecclesias- 
tic with  a  tray,  containing  napkins ;  another  with  a  tray 
of  violets,  and  a  third  with  a  Uttle  set  of  papers.  As 
his  Holiness  approaches,  the  apostles  are  agitated ;  their 
faces  change  color ;  their  petticoats  shake.  The  little 
white  boot  is  slipped  off  the  right  foot,  well  washed  as 
ever  it  was  in  its  lifetime.  The  cardinal,  from  the  gold- 
en ewer,  pours  upon  the  instep  such  a  wee  drop  of  wa- 
ter ;  and  then  his  Holiness,  taking  a  napkin,  gives  the 
foot  just  a  touch ;  and  that  napkin  falls  to  the  apostle 
as  a  perpetual  memory  of  the  day  of  his  honor.  Then 
the  head  of  the  Pope  bows  down  to  the  foot,  and  his 
lips  touch  the  instep. 


312  ITALY   IX   TRANSITION. 

Here  came  in  the  only  piece  of  real  feeling  I  saw  in 
the  whole  matter.  Just  as  the  Pope  stooped  to  kiss 
the  foot,  several  of  the  countenances,  and  notably  that 
of  the  fat  apostle,  became  suffused  with  emotion.  Its 
meaning  was  plain  enough :  "  "What  am  I  or  my  father's 
house,  that  my  feet  should  be  kissed  by  the  Yicar  of 
God!" 

The  Romans  often  say  that  the  Pope  does  not  kiss 
the  foot,  but  a  bunch  of  violets  which  he  lays  upon  it. 
This  was  not  the  case.  Pio  Xono  really  did  the  work ; 
he  kissed  the  foot.  This  done,  he  turned  round,  took  a 
bouquet  of  violets  and  handed  it  to  the  apostle,  who,  re- 
ceiving it,  bowed,  and  with  wonderful  satisfaction  kissed 
the  back  of  the  superhuman  hand.  Then  his  Holiness 
took  up  a  little  paper  and  handed  it  to  the  apostle, 
who  again,  with  increasing  veneration,  kisses  the  hand. 
This  little  paper  contains  two  medals,  one  gold  and  one 
silver. 

When  I  had  seen  the  greater  part  of  the  apostles 
washed,  I  thought  it  would  be  well  to  go  forward,  and 
try  to  get  a  good  place  at  the  supper,  which  was  to  fol- 
low. Moving  to  the  entrance  of  the  ladies'  platform, 
where  I  had  left  Miss ,  I  waited  for  her.  The  gen- 
tleman in  velvet  and  gold  would  let  only  one  lady  out 
at  a  time.  They  grew  impatient.  Down  at  the  corner 
we  waiting  gentlemen  saw  a  commotion  gradually  rise 
among  the  ladies.  It  grows' hotter.  Presently,  Do  we 
see  rightly?  Is  that  a  lady  on  the  top  of  the  rail  which 
shuts  them  in?     Is  that  the  light  form  of  a  fiir  girl 


KOME  IlSr  HOLY   WEEK.  313 

which  comes  down  upon  the  church  floor  with  such  a 
souse  ?  And  another,  and  another  ?  jumper  following 
jumper — is  it  possible  ?  Did  not  all  England  ring  with 
amusement  when  something  was  said  in  the  papers 
about  ladies  leaping  over  the  barriers  at  one  of  the 
queen's  drawing-rooms  ?  But  that  was  a  secular  place 
and  occasion :  here  we  are  in  presence  of  the  Pope, 
twelve  apostles — and  one  over — how  many  cardinals  I 
don't  know,  and  priests  enough  to  man  a  ship  of  war ! 
We  are  directly  under  the  dome  at  which  all  the  world 
wonders,  and  within  a  yard  or  two  of  the  high  altar  of 
the  high  church  of  the  so-called  Catholic  world.  Kever 
mind,  on  they  go,  jump,  jump,  jump !  A  stout  French- 
man, after  a  long  look  of  astonishment,  cried, "  Cest  ime 
scandaleP    And  so  it  was  a  scandal. 

Going  down  the  nave  with  a  confused  notion  of  these 
odd  scenes,  and  of  the  alternating  groups  and  costumes, 
I  was  suddenly  arrested  by  a  line  of  soldiers  drawn 
diagonally  across  the  church.  "  What !  is  the  Pope  not 
gone  yet  ?"  The  reply  was  that  he  was  changing  robes 
in  a  side  chapel.  There  stood  the  soldiers  in  double 
file,  leaving  a  wide  avenue  bayonet-hedged.  In  a  mo- 
ment passed  the  word  of  command,  as  on  parade, 
"  Ground  arms !"  Down  went  the  butts  of  the  mus- 
kets, clanging  on  the  Cathedral  floor.  Then  in  another 
moment,  "  Present  arms !"  Up  rose  every  piece.  Then 
came  a  word  I  had  never  heard  before,  at  which  every 
soldier  knelt.  Now  appears  the  poor  old  man,  arrayed 
in  other  rich  robes,  blessing  as  he  went  with  his  two 

O 


314  ITALY   IN  TEANSinON. 

fingers,  smiling  that  constant  smile,  and  seeming  to  feel 
neither  shame  nor  sorrow  that  he  was  walking  in  the 
house  of  God  amid  rows  of  prostrate  men  and  upheld 
bayonets.  Behind  the  soldiers  no  one  knelt.  What  a 
contrast  to  Florence,  where  the  Prince  of  Carignano, 
before  coming  out  to  show  himself  to  the  people,  waited 
till  every  bayonet  was  gone ! 

Now  the  rush  was  up  a  staircase — one  of  those  wind- 
ing ones  which  they  have  in  Italy,  on  which  you  ascend 
by  a  rapid  inclined  plane  without  steps.  Up  we  wound, 
and  up,  and  across  some  rooms,  till  at  last  out  of  the 
grand  Sala  Regia,  on  which  abut  the  Sistine  and  Pauline 
chapels,  we  floated  in  a  current  of  crinoline  into  a  long 
and  lofty  hall.  Priests  and  soldiers,  soldiers  and  priests ; 
ladies  and  prelates,  prelates  and  ladies ;  buzz  in  Italian, 
buzz  in  French,  buzz  in  English,  buzz  in  Spanish ;  and 
crush  and  push,  question  and  joke,  laugh  and  elbow- 
thrust:  such  is  the  scene.  Here,  on  the  right,  are 
raised  seats  for  ladies ;  in  the  middle,  the  floor  for  gen- 
tlemen ;  and  on  the  left,  an  elevated  table,  at  which  are 
seated  the  thirteen  apostles,  all  on  one  sid<j. 

It  is  a  resplendent  table.  Before  each  apostle  is  a 
statuette  of  gilded  bronze,  representing  an  apostle  whom 
he  too  represents ;  and  surely  between  them  they  ought 
to  give  the  faithful  some  idea  of  the  original.  But,  so 
far  as  I  know,  just  at  that  moment  the  faithful,  repre- 
sented by  the  company  present,  arc  thinking  of  the 
originals  as  much  as  they  would  do  at  a  Crystal  Palace 
flower-show,  a  lord-mayor's  feast,  a  royal  ball,  or  a  re- 


ROME   IN   HOLY   WEEK.  315 

view.  But  these  pretty  statuettes  are  not  common 
images.  They  once  adorned  the  holy  house  of  Loretto ; 
that  is,  the  identical  dwelling  of  Mary,  the  maid  of  Naz- 
areth, which,  having  stood  till  the  days  of  the  Moham- 
medans, was  about  to  be  defiled  by  them,  when  the  an- 
gels took  it  up,  and,  just  as  the  Hindoo  god  Hanuman 
did  with  the  Himalayas,  carried  it  bodily  through  the 
air  and  planted  it  in  Dalmatia.  Here  it  was  again  in 
peril,  and  its  celestial  keepers,  lifting  it  once  more  just 
over  the  Adriatic,  lodged  it  safely  in  a  grove  of  laurels. 
Enormous  wealth  was  massed  up  in  this  shrine.  But 
when  the  legions  of  Bonaparte  reached  the  angel-fenced 
abode,  they  found  that  Pius  YI.  had  thought  it  best  to 
leave  nothing  to  the  charge  of  celestial  guards,  but  the 
old  wood  image  of  the  Virgin;  probably  supposing 
that  they  were  not  accustomed  to  defend,  as  scrupu- 
lously as  would  be  done  at  Rome,  jewels,  gold,  silver, 
pearls,  and  costly  robes.  Even  the  holy  image,  howev- 
er, proved  too  earthly  a  treasure  for  them  to  guard. 
It  was  carried  off  by  the  sans-ciclottes  soldiers,  and  for 
some  years  was  a  museum  curiosity  in  Paris  among  oth- 
er images. 

The  table  is  covered  with  gilded  vessels  and  beauti- 
ful flowers.  Before  it  stands  the  Pope,  surrounded  by 
his  retinue.  A  bishop  is  reading,  and  might  as  well  be 
whistling  for  any  thing  that  can  be  heard;  but  they  are 
used  to  that.  Then  come  thirteen  bishops  robed,  each 
bearing  a  bowl  of  soup.  The  first,  approaching  the 
Pope,  kneels  down,  and  his  soup  is  blessed  by  the  pon- 


316  ITAI.Y   IN  TEANSITIOX. 

tifical  hand.  It  is  then  placed  before  St.  Peter.  The 
second  bishop  kneels  likewise — gets  his  soup  blessed — 
and  he  places  it  before  St.  Andreio.  So  on  till  the  thir- 
teen are  served.  Then  come  thuleen  prelates  succeed- 
ing to  the  bishops ;  they  bear  dishes — they  kneel  before 
the  source  of  blessings — get  the  benediction  on  each 
separate  dish,  and  lay  them  before  the  apostles.  Then 
come  the  bishops  again,  then  the  prelates,  till  each  has 
borne  six  dishes,  making  twelve  in  all,  for  each  apostle ; 
and  every  dish  has  its  separate  benediction !  The  Pope 
pours  out  wine  and  water  for  the  apostles,  and  finally 
takes  his  leave.  The  apostles  eat  very  well,  drink  their 
wine  in  comfort;  but  presently  you  see  going  on  a 
process  of  gathering  the  "leavings"  into  baskets  or 
bags  under  the  table.  The  wine,  however,  is  all  carried 
away  in  living  bottles ;  and,  for  a  closing  scene,  the 
apostles  take  to  pocketing  the  dessert.  "Where  do  the 
pockets  lie?  I  could  not  make  out.  But  it  is  not  a 
magnificent  conclusion  for  so  wonderful  a  festival. 

Then,  the  rush  for  the  flowers !  One  gets  a  bunch, 
another  a  sprig,  another  a  leaf;  and  the  ladies  press  for 
them,  and  the  prelates  are  polite,  almost  gallant;  and 
every  body  is  merry,  and  altogether  it  is  as  unlike  a  se- 
rious afiair  of  any  sort  as  you  can  imagine.  But  I 
saw  nothing  to  justify  some  accounts,  that  when  the 
flowers  come  to  be  scrambled  for,  matters  between  the 
ladies  and  the  prelates  reach  a  point  of  extreme  famil- 
iarity. 

That  afternoon  I  went  into  a  shop,  and  got  into  chat 


EOME  IN   HOLY   WEEK.  317 

with  the  stout  old  woman  who  ruled  over  it.  "  Have 
you  been  to  St.  Peter's  this  morning  ?"  she  asked. 

"Fes;  have  you?" 

"  Oh  no,  we  Romans  do  not  think  of  going  to  those 
ceremonies;  they  are  for  foreigners.  You  like  them. 
Were  you  not  greatly  pleased  ?" 

"Well,  as  an  exhibition — a  show — it  was  very  daz- 
zling." 

She  looked  puzzled,  and  said,  "It  is,  I  sujipose,  to 
teach  us  humihty,  that  the  Pope  washes  the  apostles' 
feet." 

"  How  does  it  teach  humility  ?" 

"  Well,  they  say  it  is  to  teach  it." 

"  They  say  so ;  but  how  can  it  teach  humility  for  one 
man  to  come  and  set  himself  on  a  throne  in  the  house 
of  God,  and  make  other  men  kneel  down  to  him,  and 
wave  censers  to  him;  and  then,  preceded  by  men  in 
purple,  followed  by  men  in  purple,  himself  in  the  rich- 
est robes,  to  have  water  poured  by  a  splendid  dignitary 
out  of  a  golden  vessel,  in  mockery,  on  a  clean  foot, 
which  he  touches  with  a  napkin,  and  with  his  lips,  while 
thousands  look  on  ?  Is  there  a  priest  in  the  wide  world 
so  proud  that  he  would  not  rejoice  to  enact  the  Pope's 
part  in  this  exhibition  ?  Is  there  a  true  Christian  upon 
earth  who  would  make  such  a  display  in  doing  a  good 
deed?" 

The  old  lady  looked  as  if  this  half  pleased,  half  per- 
plexed her :  "  But  did  not  our  Savior  do  so  ?" 

"Our  Savior  do  so!     He  did  wash  His  disciples' 


318  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

feet,  but  how  differently !  They  were  twelve  poor  men, 
with  weary,  dusty  feet,  and  in  a  secret,  obscure  cham- 
ber ;  and  He,  their  Lord  and  Master,  in  good  earnest 
washed  their  dirty  feet,  without  a  crowd  to  look  on,  or 
a  court  to  attend  Him.  That  taught  us  secret  service 
to  the  real  needs  of  our  inferiors.  "What  I  saw  to-day 
teaches  pompous  display  of  fictitious  goodness." 

"Agostina!  Agostina!"  cried  out  the  old  woman  to 
her  daughter,  who  was  in  the  back  shop, "  Agostina ! 
come  here,  and  listen  to  this  signor!  He  says  that 
what  our  Lord  did  was  not  the  same  at  all  as  what  the 
Pope  does,  but  as  different  as  can  be.     Listen !" 

Agostina  looked  with  the  most  intent  look  that  black 
Roman  eyes  can  shoot,  and  kept  it  up  while  I  repeated, 
and  enlarged,  and  explained,  and  told  of  the  real  ways 
of  Christ  and  His  apostles,  and  of  the  Gospel,  in  which 
it  is  all  written,  and  should  be  read.  She  did  nothmg 
but  look ;  but  the  old  woman  put  in  a  word  and  a  ques- 
tion now  and  then,  and  helped  me  on. 

How  different  was  that  silent,  searching  Roman  Agos- 
tina from  the  shop-women  of  Turin,  whose  thoughts 
were  spoken  as  freely  as  those  of  English  boys  or  girls 
would  be  in  a  friendly  party !  "Was  it  wholly  the  dif- 
ference made  by  liberty  and  repression,  or  partly  that 
and  partly  nature  ? 

We  took  a  drive  to  the  Protestant  burial-ground,  and 
had  a  very  shrewd  coachman,  beside  whom  I  sat  for  the 
sake  of  talk.  He  was  astonished  at  my  knowledge  of 
the  remains  of  old  Rome,  and  my  seeming  ignorance  of 


KOME   IN   HOLY   WEEK.  319 

every  thing  connected  with  its  living  men  and  things. 
He  heard  me  talk  of  the  ceremonies,  and  at  first  took 
me  for  an  English  Catholic.  I  could  not  get  a  word 
out  of  him,  in  praise  of  Pope  or  priest,  beyond  this,  that 
the  Pope  himself  was  a  worthy  man.  He  gladly  pass- 
ed from  all  such  topics  to  talk  of  the  different  objects 
we  passed. 

There  it  was  at  last,  that  quiet  spot  inside  the  old 
lonely  wall,  far  outside  the  modern  Rome,  beyond  all 
the  remains  even  of  the  seven  hills.  Close  by  it  is  a 
landmark,  by  which  any  English  eye  may  find  it  from 
the  Capitol,  or  from  the  railway,  as  you  enter  Rome. 
There  is  a  little  pyramid,  considerable  enough  to  be 
marked  far  away.  It  is  the  tomb  of  some  ancient  no- 
body, called  Caius  Cestus,  who  bequeathed  a  pyramid 
to  posterity,  having,  perhaps,  nothing  else  to  bequeath. 
Beside  it  lie  the  remains  of  many  a  young  English  man 
and  woman,  who,  amid  the  pleasures  of  Rome,  have 
suddenly  fallen  by  fever ;  of  many  whose  lengthened 
age  has  slowly  worn  away  in  this  balmy  air.  Oh,  how 
balmy  it  is  to-day !  As  the  gate  opens,  the  western  sun 
pours  a  flood  of  orange  light  among  the  dark  cypresses, 
and  on  the  flower-knots  which  bloom  over  many  a  form 
forever  faded.  A  more  peaceful  spot  in  which  to  sit 
by  the  grave  of  a  friend  it  would  be  hard  to  find.  Yet 
much  of  this  impression  is  due  to  that  afternoon  sun 
and  this  pure  overhanging  sky.  When  I  first  visited  it 
some  years  before,  it  was  a  dull,  I  think  a  rainy  day, 
and  my  impressions  were  not  so  cheerful. 


320  ITALY   IX  TKANSITION. 

We  find  out  one  grave,  and  from  it  pick  a  few  flow- 
ers. There  rests  a  young  English  lady,  whose  widow- 
ed mother  left  her  here  in  sorrow  and  in  hope.  The 
names  she  bore  are  of  note  among  us.  As  the  widow 
laid  her  child  down,  to  leave  her  far  from  her  own 
probable  resting-place,  she  felt  as.  if  she  would  fain 
wi'ite  on  the  tomb  a  few  Bible  words  of  hope :  *'  Bless- 
ed are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord."  But  the  poor 
girl  had  died  a  Protestant,  though  in  Rome,  and  in  that 
day  toleration  had  not  reached  so  far  as  to  allow  such 
an  expression  of  hope  to  be  put  up,  even  in  a  foreign 
language,  and  in  an  out-of-the-way  spot,  over  a  heretic ! 
So  all  the  widow  could  obtain  permission  for  was, 
"This  stone  is  erected  by  her  sorrowing  yet  rejoicing 
mother."     This  was  in  1852. 

Either  the  government  has  since  grown  more  in- 
dulgent, or  Americans  are  favored  above  the  English ; 
for  on  one  or  two  American  graves  of  more  recent  date 
words  from  the  Bible  are  to  be  read,  plainly  declaring 
the  hope  of  survivors  that  the  spirit  of  the  departed  is 
at  rest. 

After  a  refreshing  visit  to  this  scene  of  peace,  among 
tombs  and  flowers,  tokens  of  human  decay,  and  pledges 
of  Divine  indulgence — after  a  moment  over  the  graves 
of  Shelley,  and  Keats,  and  Bell,  the  naturalist,  and 
thoughts  of  the  poverty  of  man  without  something 
more  than  goods  or  talents,  and  the  blessedness  of  man 
when  earth  is  but  what  the  sea  is  to  the  sailor,  a  rest- 
less but  sublime  path  to  an  unseen  haven — after  linger- 


KOME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  821 

ing  and  lingering  again,  at  last  we  were  on  our  way 
back,  and  I  was  beside  my  friend  the  coachman. 

He  was  much  more  open.  He  had  found  us  out; 
we  were  Protestant  English,  and  he  talked  away.  I 
began,  as  usual,  seeking  information  about  the  different 
churches,  friars,  and  nuns  we  happened  to  see. 

"What  is  the  difference  between  these  Capuchins 
and  the  Camaldolesi  ?" 

He  laughed  :  "  Yes,  and  the  Gregorians,  and  the  Do- 
minicans, and  the — "  running  on  with  a  string  of  names. 

"  Well,  what  is  the  difference  between  the  one  and 
the  other  ?" 

"  Oh,  each  has  his  own  religion.  They  are  all  of  dif- 
ferent religions.*  Each  order  follows  its  religion  in  its 
own  way,  according  to  the  life  of  its  founder,  and  the 
statutes  left  by  him." 

"What  do  they  do?" 

His  eye  flashed ;  but  he  checked  himself.  "  Oh,  they 
liave  their  different  observances  to  attend  to — all  sorts 
of  ceremonies,  and  so  on ;  and  they  have  to  forget  their 
friends,  and  lose  their  natural  affections,  and  keep  on  in 
the  ways  of  the  convent.  Ay,  we  have  some  who  have 
not  seen  a  relation  for  forty  years,  and  never  inquire 
after  them  or  care  for  them;  and  they  call  that  re- 
ligion !  We  have  some  who  are  called  '  Buried  Alive :' 
they  are  shut  up  from  every  human  sight  or  engage- 
ment.    Ecco^  that's  the  kind  of  thing  they  like." 

*  The  expression  about  "different  religions"  I  heard  frequently 
from  the  common  people  in  describing  the  orders. 
02 


322  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

"Among  the  different  orders  are  there  some  married 
and  some  not  ?" 

"  Married !  No ;  not  one  priest  in  Rome.  No,  no ; 
but  they  do  not  need  to  be  married — " 

"  Who  is  holiest,  priest  or  friar  ?" 

"  Oh,  for  that,  holiest !  well,  I  suppose  the  friar ;  he  is 
most  shut  off  from  the  world.  He  lives  for  the  convent 
and  in  it.  But,  holy  as  they  are,  they  get  every  thing 
into  their  hands — every  thing,  signer !"  he  cried,  giving 
the  horse  a  cut,  and  pitching  his  voice  higher ;  "  they 
grasp  at  all  we  have.  Here  families  have  no  chance 
against  them.  If  a  man  has  any  property,  he  must  look 
out  and  die  unexpectedly,  or  he  will  have  to  leave  half 
to  the  Jesuits.  Look  at  that  palace,"  pointing  to  a 
great  block  of  houses  on  the  right :  "  that  belongs  to 
such  an  order.  Look  at  that  one,"  pointing  to  another : 
"  that  belongs  to  such  an  order.  Oh,  enough !  they 
swarm  by  thousands,  and  they  have  all  employments  in 
their  hands  or  gift,  and  all  good  things  are  gulped  up 
by  them." 

"  By  thousands  ?"  I  said,  quite  innocently. 

"  Yes,  I  believe,  tens  of  thousands." 

"And  what  do  they  all  do ?" 

"  Do !  do !  what  do  they  do  ? '  SIgnor,  they  eat  and 
drink,  and  that  on  the  shoulders  of  the  poor." 

Then  came  a  dark  look,  that  ItaUan  dagger-look 
which  makes  one  shrink ;  and,  striking  the  footboard 
with  the  butt  end  of  his  whip,  he  said,  in  a  tone  I  shall 
not  easily  forget, 


ROME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  323 

"  Signoi\  this  is  a  state  where  they  that  idle  eat^  and 
they  that  labor  starve.'''^ 

Poor  fellow!  ready  made  to  the  hand  of  an  incen- 
diary for  any  cutthroat  work !  I  tried  to  tell  him  how 
they  must  not  charge  all  this  on  religion ;  how  holy  and 
beautiful  was  the  Church  as  Christ  instituted  it,  and  as 
His  apostles  left  it ;  how  well  it  was  described  in  the 
Vaiigelo^  the  Gospel-book ;  and  how  equal  rights  and 
civil  order  flourished  in  countries  where  that  book  was 
in  the  homes  of  the  poor,  and  inspired  the  laws  of  the 
ruler.  I  tried  to  cool  his  wrath  by  saying  that  among 
the  priests  were  many  good  ones,  which  he  admitted  at 
once ;  and,  above  all,  told  him  how  they  and  we  alike, 
each  with  his  own  faults  on  his  head,  might  find  mercy 
at  the  throne  of  grace.  He  seemed  to  think  mc  rather 
milk  and  water  for  not  hating  the  priests  more. 

That  evening  I  had  the  opportunity  of  talking  over 
matters  with  men  of  a  very  different  stamp.  Referring 
to  one  of  the  coachman's  points,  I  said,  "  It  can  not  be 
true  that  the  priests  generally  will  take  advantage  of 
a  dying  man  to  divert  their  property  from  his  rightful 
heirs." 

"  True !"  exclaimed  one  ;  "  of  course  it  is  true." 

"  One  finds  it  hard  to  believe  that  men  would  so  des- 
ecrate a  death-bed,  and  pervert  their  own  official  influ- 
ence. In  individual  cases,  of  course,  we  know  it  is  done 
— ^but  generally  ?" 

"  Those  doubts  are  fine !  they  are  thoroughly  En- 
glish !     You  find  it  hard  to  believe  in  such  villainy ;  we 


324  ITALY   IX   TIIANSITIOX. 

find  it  hard  to  believe  in  honest  men,  especially  if  they 
have  any  garb  of  religion.  No,  signor,  no !  families 
have  no  chance  here.  Old,  princely  families,  allied  to 
the  com-t,  whom  it  suits  it  to  keep  np,  yes ;  but  ordinary 
families,  no.  If  a  man  has  made  any  money,  the  Jesu- 
its, by  some  means,  will  secure  the  half.  Suppose  he 
has  made  it  in  business,  they  get  at  him  perhaps  thus : 
'You  can  not  have  gained  all  this  without  Avronging 
many,  knowingly  or  unknowingly.  If  you  die  without 
making  restitution,  your  soul  will  be  lost.  To  find  out 
all  the  individuals  from  whom  you  have  unjustly  gained 
would  be  impossible ;  therefore  your  only  way  of  mak- 
ing restitution  is  by  leavmg  it  to  the  Church  !'  If  that 
fails,  they  wiU  find  out  another  plan." 

The  question  as  to  acts  of  violence  coming  under  dis- 
cussion, I  found  that  the  chief  difference  between  the 
reports  of  cultivated  men  and  those  of  the  rough  and 
poor  lay  in  the  tone  in  which  they  were  made.  Some 
of  the  statements  in  M.About's  book  as  to  the  indul- 
gence shown  to  assassins  are  so  revolting  to  our  minds 
as  to  produce  scarcely  any  other  efiect  than  disgust  with 
the  writer.  But  at  Piacenza  first,  among  the  rough  but 
intelligent  men  of  business  in  the  dining-room,  tales  re- 
specting papal  rule,  gushing  hot  from  living  lips,  and  re- 
ceived without  a  hint  of  improbability  by  a  large  circle 
of  Italians,  made  me  feel  that  the  dreadful  fact  of  an  ad- 
ministration which  played  lightly  with  human  life  was 
familiar  to  those  before  me.  In  Bologna  this  was  made 
more  and  more  manifest.     The  scraps  of  talk  one  had 


EOME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  325 

in  crossing  the  Apennines  all  ran  in  the  same  direction. 
In  Tuscany,  where  papal  rule  had  not  existed,  the  change 
in  this  respect  was  obvious :  "  assassination"  was  a  word 
seldom  heard.  At  Rome,  again,  the  talk  of  blood  seem- 
ed as  natural  as  in  the  Romagna,  or  nearly  so.  The  dif- 
ference reminded  me  of  that  between  Americans  from 
the  free  and  those  from  the  slave  states :  in  the  one  case 
you  hear  of  topics  common  to  civilized  countries ;  in  the 
oyaer,  a  string  of  animated  stories  will  certainly  cause 
'^nention  of  weapons,  wounds,  and  deaths. 

Asking  an  Englishman  who  knows  Rome  as  we  know 
our  own  corners  of  London  whether  such  an  idea  as 
About  gave  was  not  exaggerated,  he  said,  "  I  wish  I 
could  say  it  was ;  but  when  one  has  been  here  so  long 
as  I,  there  is  something  horrible  in  the  familiarity  we 
acquire  with  such  news  as  that  a  few  men  have  come 
by  their  death.  Before  the  failure  of  the  wine-crop,  it 
was  an  ordinary  thing  on  a  Sunday  night,  or  that  of  a 
great  holy  day,  to  hear  of  ten  or  eleven  men  being  stab- 
bed in  and  about  the  Piazza  Barberini  alone.  Since  the 
wine  failed  there  is  less  fighting,  and  consequently  few- 
er assassinations."  Still,  this  was  the  statement  of  a 
foreigner,  though  of  one  any  thing  but  disposed  to  ex- 
aggerate. In  a  beautiful  hill  district,  amid  rich  vine- 
yards and  quaint  villages,  inquiring  from  a  medical 
gentleman  as  to  the  amount  of  disease  in  that  ap- 
parently healthy  spot,  he  said  that  there  was  compara- 
tively little  for  doctors  to  do,  and  much  less  now  since 
tlie  wine  had  become  scarce ;  for  before  that,  on  every 


326  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

holy  dav,  tbey  counted  on  having  a  few  cases  of  stab- 
bing. 

One  of  the  mctet  terrible  symptoms  is  that  nothing  is 
said  about  it.  In  England  our  papers  teem  with  ac- 
counts respecting  a  single  murder,  and  it  is  repeated  for 
months :  first,  when  it  occurs ;  next,  when  the  inquest 
sits ;  then,  when  the  Assizes  come ;  and,  finally,  when 
the  execution  takes  place,  the  attention  of  thirty  mil- 
lions of  people  is  directed  to  the  tragedy.  But  in  the 
Roman  States  it  is  no  tragedy ;  it  is  an  accident.  Noth- 
ing is  said  about  it.  The  violent  death  of  half  a  dozen 
would  cause  a  sensation  only  in  the  neighborhood  where 
it  occurred.  In  a  set  of  prints,  bought  in  any  shop  in 
Rome,  representing  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
people,  one  of  women  tearing  off  each  other's  hair,  and 
another  of  men  fighting  with  daggers  and  muskets, 
come  in  as  naturally  as  a  sliillelah  scuffle  would  in  pic- 
tures of  Ireland. 

The  connection  between  the  failure  of  the  vine  and 
the  decrease  of  violence  is  a  fact  worth  noting.  The 
wines  of  South  Italy  are  fiery,  as  is  the  case  wherever 
the  grape  grows  on  volcanic  soil.  "When  one  says 
fiery,  of  course  it  means  as  compared  with  wine,  not 
with  the  strong  drinks  used  in  England  under  the  names 
of  "  Port"  and  "  Sherry."  It  would  seem  that  the  ex- 
citing wines  of  Rome  have  the  double  tendency  which 
may  be  marked  every  where  in  contrast  with  that  of 
mild  wines.  The  latter  do  not  produce  a  diseased  ap- 
jictite,  and  do  not  urge  to  acts  of  violence.    In  propor- 


EOME  ll!i  HOLY   WEEK.  327 

tion  as  tlie  strength  of  drinks  increases,  so  does  their 
tendency  to  raise  a  morbid  craving ;  but,  so  far  as  I 
have  seen  the  civilized  world,  we  are  the  only  nation 
into  the  social  usages  of  which  drmking  apart  from  eat- 
ing, and  as  a  thing  for  its  own  sake,  is  fairly  established 
at  the  family  table.  True,  the  after-dinner  hour  is  now 
a  very  different  institution  from  what  it  once  was ;  but 
it  continues  an  hour  for  Englishmen  to  devote  to  wine, 
after  having  taken  enough  with  dinner,  which  when  oth- 
er people  do,  they  are  satisfied.  One  cause  is  the  differ- 
ent strength  of  the  potations  :  a  light  wine  taken  with 
food  excites  no  thirst  for  more ;  a  strong  drink  likes  to 
be  taken,  for  its  own  sake. 

On  Good  Friday  I  expected  to  find  all  Rome  deliver- 
ed up  to  a  holy  and  solemn  day ;  but  shops  were  open, 
flower-stalls  in  bloom — and  what  flower-stalls ! — offices 
busy,  studios  occupied,  wagons  rolling,  markets  full  of 
picturesque  groups,  chaffing  with  a  will,  and  the  pork- 
butchers  in  great  activity,  preparing  for  the  coming  tide 
of  custom  when  the  embargo  of  Lent  comes  off.  At 
breakfast  a  beefsteak  appeared  on  the  table  quite  natu- 
rally, as  if  it  was  offering  no  defiance  to  such  great  pow- 
ers as  Pope  or  cardinal,  and  at  the  table  cr/ibte  no  man 
could  have  told  it  was  Good  Friday  any  where,  espe- 
cially in  Rome.  Meats  of  all  kinds  were  served  com- 
fortably, and  either  all  present  were  Protestants,  or  act- 
ed as  if  they  were. 

The  only  ceremony  of  the  day  to  which  one  need  re- 


328  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

fer  is  that  of  Tenebrce,  or  "  the  Shades,"  as  celebrated 
on  Good  Friday  evening  at  St.  Peter's.  It  is  not  in  the 
great  church,  but  in  a  side  chapel,  closed  up  to  the  time 
of  beginning. 

We  expected  a  multitude.  A  few  dozen  people  were 
about,  some  closing  round  the  gate  of  the  chapel,  and 
others  sauntering  in  the  church.  Before  the  service 
began  they  had  increased  to  a  few  dozen  more.  There 
was  a  great  rush  for  a  small  number,  and  then  it  proved 
that  the  seats  were  few. 

Before  the  altar  was  a  kind  of  candelabrum,  with  a 
triangular  form,  set  round  with  candles  the  color  of 
palm  oil,  fifteen  in  number,  and  one  standing  on  the 
apex.  There  were  a  couple  of  score  of  canons,  minor 
and  major,  with  at  least  one  cardinal.  A  priest  (I  do 
not  like  to  call  him  master  of  the  ceremonies,  but  I  find 
that  term  used  by  Monsignor  Baggs,  in  his  book  on 
Holy  Week)  waited  by  the  lectern.  Now  the  Chapter 
sang  in  chorus ;  now  the  choir  came  in ;  and  of  all  music 
I  have  heard,  nothing  ever  left  such  an  impression  of  a 
vocal  prodigy  on  my  mind  as  the  soprano  of  one  man 
among  the  singers.  It  was  a  quality  of  voice  which 
filled  one  with  amazement,  and  every  additional  note 
but  increased  the  eagerness  to  listen.  Now  and  then 
the  canons  came  to  the  lectern  with  great  pomp  of  ap- 
proach and  return.  As  it  came  to  the  turn  of  each,  the 
master  of  the  ceremonies  approached  the  side  on  which 
the  next  reader  sat,  and  made  a  profound  bow.  The 
canon  left  his  seat,  walked  to  the  lectern,  followed  by 


KOME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  329 

the  waiting-man,  who  lent  him  his  hand  to  help  him  to 
bow  his  knee,  and  altogether  waited  on  him  as  if  he 
were  a  lady  or  an  invalid.  The  short  Psalm  was  in- 
toned, and  sometimes  one  could  catch  a  word,  but  very 
rarely.  The  great  man  and  little  man  bowed  to  one 
another ;  then  the  great  man  walked  to  his  seat,  and  the 
little  followed  to  the  edge  of  the  canons'  benches,  where 
he  waited  till  the  great  man  had  reached  his  place,  when 
he  bowed,  and  was  bowed  to  again.  If  I  had  counted 
the  bows,  and  the  times  this  was  repeated,  my  readers 
would  hardly  believe  me.  Some  of  the  canons,  while 
before  the  book,  and  fresh  from  bowing  to  the  altar, 
spat  upon  the  marble  floor  as  comfortably  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  "  House"  would  do  in  Washington.  Some 
of  them  would  draw  out  a  thick  cotton  pocket-handker- 
chief, of  strong  colors,  and,  rolling  it  up  into  the  shape 
of  a  mower's  whetstone,  would  draw  it  from  end  to  end 
across  the  upper  lip,  and  then  draw  it  back  again. 

After  each  Psalm  a  candle  was  extinguished,  and  thus 
the  original  fifteen  grew  less  and  less.  When  only  the 
topmost  remained,  it  was  carried  behind  the  altar,  and 
hidden  there  for  a  while,  and  then  brought  out  burning. 
To  uninitiated  people,  one  disadvantage  of  teaching  by 
pantomime  is  that  they  see  things  which  do  not  explain 
themselves,  much  less  any  thing  else,  whereas  teaching 
by  language  at  least  aims  at  doing  both. 

What  is  all  this  bowing,  marching,  and  quenching  of 
browny-yellow  candles  about  ?  Here  is  the  answer  fur- 
nished by  Monsignor  Baggs : 


330  ITAIY  IN  TRANSITION. 

"Lamps  and  candelabra  were  presented  to  the  sanc- 
tuary by  the  faithful  during  the  first  ages  of  persecu- 
tion; and  in  more  tranquil  times  to  the  basilicas  by 
Constantino  and  others  who  erected  or  dedicated  them. 
They  were  lighted,  as  St.  Jerome  observes,  in  the  day- 
time, 'not  to  drive  away  darkness,  but  as  a  sign  of  joy;' 
and  therefore  the  custom  of  gradually  extinguishing 
them  at  the  office  of  Tenebrso  we  may  justly  consider 
with  Amalarius  as  a  sign  of  mourning,  or  of  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Church  with  her  divine  and  sufiering 
Spouse.  The  precise  number  of  lights  is  determined 
by  that  of  the  psalms,  which  is  the  same  as  at  ordinary 
matins  of  three  nocturns. 

"  The  custom  of  concealing  behind  the  altar  during 
the  last  part  of  the  office  the  last  and  most  elevated 
candle,  and  of  bringing  it  forward  burning  at  the  end 
of  the  service,  is  a  manifest  allusion  to  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Christ,  whose  light,  as  Micrologus  ob- 
serves, is  represented  by  our  burning  tapers.  '  I  am 
the  light  of  the  world.'  (John  viii.,  12.)  In  the  same 
manner,  the  other  candles  extinguished  one  after  anoth- 
er may  represent  the  prophets  successively  put  to  death 
before  their  divine  Lord ;  and  if  we  consider  that  the 
Psalms  of  the  Old  Testament  are  recited  at  the  time, 
this  explanation  may  appear  more  satisfactory  than  oth- 
ers, which  would  refer  them  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  the 
apostles,  and  disciples  of  Christ.  In  the  triangular 
form  of  the  candlestick  is  contained  an  evident  allusion 
to  the  B.  Trinity.    This  candlestick  is  mentioned  in  a 


ROME  IN   HOLY  WEEK.  331 

MS.  Ordo  of  tlie  seventh  century,  published  by  Ma- 
bUlon."* 

Another  writer,  with  a  name  EngUsh  people  are  fond 
of,  Mr.  C.  J.  Hemans,  gives  the  following : 

"  After  the  extinction  of  the  lights,  when  the  strains 
of  the  Penitential  Psalm  commence,  the  effect  of  the 
architecture  of  such  a  temple,  only  the  more  salient  de- 
tails being  discernible  in  the  shadowy  obscurity  of  the 
hour,  greatly  contributes  to  prepare  the  mind  for  sol- 
emn and  religious  impressions.  The  effect  of  stupen- 
dous vastness  is  strengthened  rather  than  weakened  in 
this  wonderful  architecture  by  the  twilight  gloom. 
The  deep  toll  of  the  bell,  which  breaks  upon  the  sUence 
after  the  chanted  service  has  ceased,  announcing  the  ex- 
position from  the  balcony  nnder  the  cupola  of  the  three 
relics  (the  cross,  the  lance,  and  Volto  Santo)  ^  dimly  dis- 
tinguished by  the  taper  light  reflected  on  the  gold  and 
crystal  they  are  shrined  in,  has  a  startling  echo  through 
those  majestic  aisles ;  and  the  exposition  itself  forms  a 
remarkably  picturesque  accessory  to  the  mystic  solem- 
nity of  the  scene. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  office  of  Tenebrse  a  harsh  abrupt 
noise  is  made  by  the  assistants,  which  is  said  to  allude 
to  the  convulsion  of  Nature  at  the  hour  the  Redeemer 
expired."! 

A  boom  of  the  great  bell  announces  some  coming 

*  "The  Ceremonies  of  the  Holy  Week  at  Rome.  By  the  Right 
Rev.  Monsignor  Baggs,  Bishop  of  Pella,"  p.  43,  44. 

t  ''Lent  and  the  Holy  Week  in  Rome.    By  C.  J.  Hemans,"  p.  1 25. 


332  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

event,  and  a  stir  of  the  people  follows.  All  now  turn 
into  the  nave.  There  a  procession  of  dignitaries  makes 
its  appearance.  The  usual  hedge  of  bayonets  is  plant- 
ed to  keep  the  way  of  the  Holy  Father.  He  comes,  and 
down  fall  the  poor  guards;  while  the  old  man's  two 
fingers  move,  blessing  the  bent  heads  and  the  erect 
bayonets,  and  still  that  smile  beams  on.  I  can  not  be- 
lieve that  it  is,  as  so  many  of  the  people  say,  assumed, 
and  now  set  in  the  muscles ;  for,  apart  from  it,  kindness 
and  good-will  appear  to  dwell  in  the  face. 

Hush !  he  to  whom  they  kneel  down  in  God's  house 
has  himself  found  something  to  kneel  to.  What  is 
this  ?  At  the  ceremony  yesterday  he  sat  on  a  throne, 
had  knees  bent  to  him,  and  incense  offered  to  him ;  but, 
from  all  the  eye  could  see,  there  was  no  being  in  that 
house  so  high  as  he.  Doubtless,  had  any  one  been  able 
to  hear  and  understand  the  words  said  and  sung,  they 
would  have  found  allusions  to  Another  and  a  Higher. 
But  we  heard  voices,  not  words ;  music,  not  wisdom. 
The  ear  was  for  pleasure,  the  eye  only  for  lessons ;  and 
it  reported  that  the  enthroned,  incensed  one  to  whom 
they  knelt  knew  of  no  Lord  and  King. 

But  now  he  bows  down  on  the  church  floor,  and  lo, 
up  start  at  that  sight  all  the  soldiers  from  their  knees ! 
What  does  this  mean  ?  I  do  not  know  what  Rome  in- 
tends to  teach  by  it.  It  is,  however,  a  great  lesson  to 
the  eye ;  and  it  only  says.  Men  kneel  to  thee ;  but  when 
thou  dost  kneel  to  any  higher  power,  it  is  for  men  to 
look  on  at  the  spectacle. 


KOME  IN   HOLY  WEEK.  333 

And  what  is  it  before  which  he  kneels  ?  A  little 
balcony  high  up,  some  thu'ty  yards  or  so,  on  the  left  of 
the  great  altar,  is  marked,  in  the  general  gloom  now 
prevailing,  by  lights,  and  the  robed  forms  of  a  few  can- 
ons. They  hold  up  something  in  their  hands  three 
times  in  succession.  In  each  case  it  seems  to  shine,  as 
if  jewels,  or  glass,  or  gold  reflected  the  taper  light. 
Are  they  pictures,  caskets,  amulets,  or  framed  docu- 
ments ?  They  may  be  any  or  all  of  these ;  your  eye 
has  no  good  account  to  give. 

"  What  are  those  things  the  priests  are  holding  up, 
as  if  they  meant  us  to  look  at  them  ?" 

"  Those,  signor,  are  the  most  holy  relics." 

"  And  what  is  the  Pope  doing  ?" 

"  The  Holy  Father  is  adoring  the  most  holy  relics." 

"  And,  pray,  what  may  the  relics  be  ?" 

"  There  is  the  most  holy  cross,  the  sacred  spear,  and 
the  most  holy  visage." 

These  are  word  for  word  the  answers  given  by  my 
next  neighbor. 

While  the  canons  were  holding  up  these  three  ob- 
jects, the  Pope  remained  kneeling,  as  also  the  cardinals 
and  dignitaries  behind  him ;  the  soldiers  stood,  and  the 
spectators,  except  a  few  here  and  there. 

As  to  the  genuineness  of  these  relics  I  will  say  noth- 
ing. Any  reader  may  find  all  Rome  can  say  to  support 
the  tradition.  The  cross  and  spear  (all  know  the  tale) 
were  found  by  Helen  in  Jerusalem ;  and  the  true  cross 
was  distuiguished  from  those  of  the  thieves  by  its  wood 


334  ITALY  IN  TRAKSmOX. 

curing  a  dying  woman  according  to  some  authorities,  a 
dead  man  according  to  others. 

Tlie  spear  was  given  to  Pope  Innocent  Vlll.by  Baja- 
zet  the  Sultan. 

As  for  the  visage,  it  is  an  imprint  of  the  countenance 
of  Christ,  made  in  the  hours  of  His  agony  upon  a  hand- 
kerchief wherewith  he  was  then  wiped  by  St.  Veronica, 
whose  statue  is  just  under  the  balcony  from  which  this 
"  most  holy"  relic  is  displayed.  What  Monsignor  Baggs 
says  as  to  the  "  evidence  in  favor  of  the  rehc"  is  this : 

"  As  for  the  Volto  Scmto^  or  image  of  our  Savior,  it 
was  placed  in  an  oratory  of  the  Vatican  Basilica  by 
John  VII.  as  long  ago  as  ^07,  as  may  be  seen  in  Marti- 
netti,  Dei  pregii  delict  Basilica  Vat,  Who  St.  Veron- 
ica or  Berenice  was,  who  is  said  to  have  wiped  our 
Savior's  face  with  the  handkerchief,  is  another  question, 
as  Benedict  XIV.  observes,  to  whom  and  to  Martinetti 
I  shall  content  myself  with  referring.  It  appears  that 
this  ancient  likeness  of  our  Savior  was  afterward  kept 
at  St.  Spirito ;  six  Roman  noblemen  had  the  care  of  it ; 
and  to  each  of  them  was  confided  one  of  the  six  keys 
with  which  it  was  locked  up.  They  enjoyed  various 
privileges ;  and,  among  others,  says  an  ancient  MS. 
Chronicle  quoted  by  Cancellieri,  ^havevano  questi  sei 
ogni  anno^  da  Santo  Spirito,  due  vacche  in  die  S.  Spir- 
it us  le  quali  se  magnavano  li  con  granfesta?  In  1410 
the  Volto  Santo  was^  carried  back  to  St.  Peter's,  where 
it  lias  ever  since  remained."* 

♦  Baggs,  p.  88. 


EOME  IN   HOLY  WEEK.  335 

And  on  this  evidence  we  are  to  fall  down  upon  our 
knees  before  a  cloth !  On  such  grounds  the  whole 
pomp  of  Rome  is  brought  out  to  teach  the  world  to 
worship  relics !  Things  in  India  are  sometimes  obscene 
and  coarse,  and  in  those  respects  not  to  be  compared 
with  any  thing  that  even  Rome  ventures  to  graft  on 
Christianity ;  but  as  an  elaborate  attempt,  on  the  part 
of  the  great,  to  teach  superstition  to  the  low,  this  cere- 
mony of  "  adoring  the  major  relics"  seemed  to  surpass 
all  I  had  ever  seen. 

Four  men,  who  loved  Christ  with  a  love  stronger 
than  death,  wrote  His  life,  but  left  no  hint  of  his  height, 
complexion,  features,  or  any  one  point  that  could  help 
the  mind  to  a  personal  image.  Others  wrote  long 
Epistles,  of  which  he  was  the  Alpha  and  Omega ;  but 
His  form  is  as  much  kept  out  of  view  as  the  body  of 
Moses,  hidden  by  the  Almighty  in  an  undiscovered 
grave.  The  Christian  tombs  and  relics  of  the  first  cen- 
turies show  no  attempt  to  make  an  image  of  Christ. 
Too  deep  a  sense  of  the  Divine  rested  upon  the  early 
Church  to  permit  of  any  attempt  to  paint  the  human,  as 
it  appeared  in  Him. 

That  evening  the  long-talked-of  excommunication  was 
put  into  my  hands.  It  had  been  posted  up  in  the  pub- 
lic places  at  Rome,  notably  on  the  doors  of  the  Lateran 
Basilica,  famous  for  many  such  an  act.  It  was  now 
printed  in  a  pamphlet  form  for  the  benefit  of  the  public. 
It  read  much  more  like  a  poHtical  manifesto  than  an  act 


336  EOME   IX   TE.\JS^SITIOX. 

of  a  high-priest ;  and  the  mixture  of  Divine  and  politic- 
al subjects,  of  earthly  designs  and  heavenly  claims,  is, 
to  minds  trained  as  ours,  almost  incomprehensible.  It 
not  only  pronounces  the  sentence  of  the  greater  excom- 
munication, which  is  an  entire  cutting  off  from  the  com- 
munion of  Christ's  body,  and,  in  the  view  of  Rome,  spir- 
itually the  same  thing  as  a  sentence  of  outlawry  is  civil- 
ly, with  this  one  exception,  that  the  person  may  repent ; 
but,  in  addition  to  this,  it  lays  the  excommunicated  per- 
sons under  all  the  2^enalties  of  the  canon  law  ;  and  no 
wonder  that  the  "  Opinio7i^''  of  Turin  should  ask, 
"  What  would  you  say  of  a  judge  who,  after  having 
condemned  eleven  millions  of  Italians  at  a  stroke  to  the 
loss  of  all  civil  and  political  rights,  that  is,  to  civil  death, 
should  then  declare  them  subject  to  all  the  other  penal- 
ties of  the  criminal  code  ?  There  would  be  nothing  for 
it  but  to  hang  him  offhand.  It  is  evident,  then,  that 
beyond  the  excommunication,  which,  in  the  opinion  of 
Rome,  brings  spiritual  death,  nothing  remains  but  the 
penalty  of  the  stake  —  a  penalty,  in  fact,  sanctioned  in 
the  canons  of  the  Inquisition  against  those  who,  within 
a  year  after  the  date  of  the  excommunication,  shall  not 
give  sign  of  perfect  repentance.  To  this  cajjital  execu- 
tion, in  the  technology  of  the  holy  Inquisition,  the  name 
of  auto  da/e  is  given;  and  while  the  rebels  are  burning 
and  roasting,  the  Dominican  fathers  should  be  devoutly 
present,  reciting  the  most  holy  rosary."*  And  yet  some 
amiable  members  of  our  House  of  Commons  had  tho 
♦  L'Opinione,  April  19th,  1860. 


ROME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  33 T 

hardihood  to  say,  in  the  presence  of  the  British  public, 
that  the  excommunication  is  not  a  curse !  The  laying 
on  of  all  the  penalties  ever  devised  by  Rome  against 
the  souls  and  bodies  of  men,  no  curse !  Seeing  me  ex- 
amining this  document,  a  Roman  gentleman  asked, 

"  What,  have  you  got  that  ?" 

"  Yes ;  have  you  not  seen  it  ?" 

"No." 

"How  is  that?" 

"  I  did  not  know  that  it  was  separately  printed,  and 
I  have  only  seen  it  posted  at  the  public  places.  Of 
course  I  would  not  venture  to  read  it  there,  because  I 
know  very  well  it  would  not  be  possible  to  do  so  with- 
out having  the  eyes  of  two  or  three  spies  upon  me ; 
and,  while  reading  it,  I  might  lift  my  brows,  or  pout 
my  lips,  or  say  '  Pshaw !'  or  I  might  even  forget  myself 
so  far  as  to  exclaim, '  That  is  a  lie !'  and  then,  poor  me !" 
I  happened,  at  that  moment,  to  be  reading  the  part  of 
the  document  in  which  complaint  was  made  against  the 
Sardinian  government  for  taking  away  the  Romagna 
by  bribery  and  intimidation,  representing  the  majority 
of  the  people  as  happy  subjects  of  a  beloved  sovereign. 
"  Oh,  what  lies  I"  said  the  Roman,  "  what  lies !" 

"  You  don't  venture  to  say  so  ?" 

"  Say  so  ?  of  course  I  do.  Those  things  are  not  writ- 
ten for  us ;  they  are  written  for  people  far  away." 

A  day  or  two  after,  in  a  railway  carriage  coming  from 
Frascati,  a  young  priest  had  this  document  in  his  hand. 
A  layman  saw  it,  and  begged  for  one  look.     He  handed 

P 


338  ITALY  IX  TEANSITIOX. 

it  back  in  silence.  Another  layman  beside  the  priest 
put  some  questions,  and  he  began  to  declaim  against 
those  who  had  robbed  the  Church.  After  a  while  I 
ventured  to  say,  "  May  a  foreigner  ask  you  what  is 
meant  by  '  the  greater  excommunication  ?'  " 

"  Oh,"  he  said,  "  that  means  that  no  one  in  the  world 
has  authority  to  take  it  off  but  the  Pope  himself,  or  to 
restore  the  excommunicate  persons  to  the  Church ;  and 
also,  under  the  minor  excommunication,  a  person  is  not 
forbidden  intercourse  with  other  Christians,  whereas  un- 
der the  major  he  is." 

"  Then  he  is  entirely  outside  the  kingdom  of  grace  ?" 

"Just  so." 

"And  if  he  die  in  that  state?" 

"Ah!" 

"Against  how  many  people  is  this  directed?" 

"Against  all  who  have  had  any  hand,  act,  or  part  in 
robbing  the  Church  or  encouraging  the  robbery." 

"All  those  are  to  be  excluded  from  every  office  of 
the  Church?" 

"  Certainly." 

"  Then,  of  course,  the  churches  all  over  the  Romagna 
and  Piedmont  will  be  closed  ?" 

"  Well,  you  see  no  individual  is  named." 

"  Oh,  they  are  all  meant,  but  nobody  named ;  and 
how  then  will  it  be  applied  ?" 

"Every  one  whose  conscience  tells  liiiu  that  Jie  lias 
had  a  part  in  the  matter  will  ajiply  it  to  himself.  It  is 
more  a  matter  of  conscience." 


EOME  IN   HOLY   WEEK.  339 

By  this  time  he  was  getting  rather  weary,  and  I  said, 
"  You  will  pardon  me  for  asking ;  but  you  know  that 
we  are  not  much  accustomed  to  public  cursing."  The 
laymen  had  been  listening  with  intense  curiosity,  and 
now  one  of  them  struck  in. 

"  You  are  from  England  ?" 

"Yes." 

"A  Catholic?" 

"Yes." 

At  this  he  looked  disappointed.  I  said,  "I  am  a 
Catholic,  but  not  a  Roman ;"  and  then  gave  him  my 
views  of  the  difference  between  the  two. 

"  But,"  said  the  priest,  "  it  is  impossible  to  be  a  Cath- 
olic without  being  a  Roman.  St.  Peter  founded  the 
Roman  Church,  and  his  successors  are  Peter,  and  apart 
from  Peter  there  can  be  no  union  with  the  Church. 
'  Strengthen  thy  brethren,'  were  our  Lord's  words  to 
him.  He  was  the  prince  of  the  apostles  and  the  head 
of  the  Church  in  his  life ;  his  successors  continued  to  be 
so,  and  there  is  but  the  one  holy  Roman  Catholic  apos- 
tolic Church." 

"  St.  Peter  founded  the  Church  of  Rome  ?  Where 
have  we  the  account  of  that  ?" 

"  In  the  New  Testament." 

"In  what  book?" 

"  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles." 

"  I  do  not  remember  that.  I  do  remember  that  St. 
Paul  is  mentioned  as  having  come  to  Rome." 

"  Oh  yes,  St.  Paul  too — they  were  joint  founders  of 
the  Church  in  Rome." 


340  ITALY   IN  TRAXSITION. 

"But  are  you  sure  that  the  account  of  St.  Peter  hav- 
ing come  to  Rome  and  founded  the  Church  here  is  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  ?" 

"  Certainly." 

"  I  rather  think  not." 

"  Of  course  it  is,"  getting  rather  warm. 

"  Have  you  a  New  Testament  about  you  ?" 

"No,"  he  said. 

"  Well,  permit  me  to  say  that  in  the  New  Testament 
there  is  not  one  single  word  on  the  subject  of  St.  Peter 
ever  having  been  at  Rome ;  that  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  no  hint  is  given  of  any  thing  of  the  kind." 

"  Oh,  perhaps  not,"  he  said,  evidently  feeling  that  my 
tones  were  those  of  one  Avho  knew  what  he  said ;  "  but 
the  Almighty  has  not  thought  it  necessary  to  put  every 
thing  into  the  Scriptures." 

The  look  given  by  the  laymen  at  this  passage  made 
me  begin  to  fear  for  the  forbearance  of  my  friend ;  but 
he  at  once  put  on  a  high  tone,  and  gave  me  a  real  lec- 
ture on  the  A'alue  and  glory  of  belonging  to  the  true 
Church.  There  was  such  a  decided  air  of  authority, 
that  all  I  ventured  to  say  at  the  close  was,  "  Well,  I  be- 
lieve in  the  Christian  faith — in  the  x)ld  faith  of  the  early 
Church.  The  New  Testament  gives  you  my  faith ; 
and,  so  far  as  human  words  can  express  it,  it  is  very 
well  set  forth  in  the  Apostles'  Creed." 

Hero  he  kindled  anew.  "  But,"  he  said,  "  God  does 
not  allow  every  one  to  draw  his  faith  out  of  the  Scrip- 
tures for  himself.     He  has  provided   otherwise  than 


HOME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  341 

that.  He  has  given  the  authority  to  Peter,  when  he 
said  to  him, '  Strengthen  thy  brethren ;'  and  Peter,  ujDon 
whom  has  devolved  this  authority,  must  execute  it  to 
all  time.  '  Strengthen  thy  brethren.'  "  And  he  went 
on  to  argue,  as  if  this  comforting  word  to  poor  Peter, 
"When  thou  art  converted,  strengthen  thy  brethren," 
was  a  charter  for  him  to  take,  for  all  time,  the  body, 
soul,  and  spirit  of  every  Christian,  and  rule  them  at  his 
will. 

"  Yes,"  he  said ;  "  I,  as  an  individual,  am  not  to  fol- 
low my  own  views,  but  I  am  to  go  to  Peter.  Peter 
will  tell  me  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Lord ;  Peter  will 
guide  me  aright ;  and  if  I  have  done  this,  then  I  have 
acquitted  my  own  responsibility,  and  I  can  not  be  lost ; 
for  I  can  say  to  the  Almighty,  '  I  have  used  the  means 
appointed  by  Thyself  for  my  salvation.' "  The  man 
talked  as  if  he  thought  his  words  ought  to  make  some 
impression. 

I  simply  replied  to  all  this,  "That  is  not  my  faith. 
There  is  not  a  word  of  it  in  the  Christian  Scriptures, 
nor  in.  the  early  ages  of  Christianity.  Those  claims  ab- 
solutely to  rule  the  souls  of  men,  as  the  representatives 
of  God  upon  earth,  were  never  known  or  made  in  the 
early  ages  of  the  Church,  nor  for  centuries  after  the 
days  of  the  apostles.  Peter  never  avowed  himself  ready 
to  answer  for  the  soul  of  another ;  he  pointed  all  to  his 
Lord  and  Master.  Nor  did  Paul  or  any  apostle  ever 
act  otherwise." 

At  this  he  fired  a  good  deal,  went  off  into  a  long  dis- 


342  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

course  upon  the  Church's  purity  and  goodness,  and  said 
that  to  him  the  very  hatred  and  opposition  now  shown 
to  her,  especially  by  Catholics  themselves,  was  one  of 
the  strongest  proofs ;  and  that  the  persecutions  which 
were  now  raised  against  her,  and  the  robberies  commit- 
ted upon  her,  were  all  manifestations  of  her  Divine  ori- 
gin ;  that  the  Church  had  suffered  much  from  fire  and 
blood,  but  had  always  triumphed  in  the  midst  of  it,  and 
she  would  again. 

To  hear  a  Roman  priest  on  the  soil  of  Rome  talk  of 
the  Church  in  connection  w^ith  fire  and  blood,  especially 
in  the  tone  of  this  young  man,  made  one  feel  cold.  He 
evidently  meant  me  to  understand  that  I  was  not  to  go 
much  farther ;  and  I  said  very  quietly,  "  Well,  my  faith 
is  fairly  represented  in  your  own  remains  from  the  cata- 
combs of  Rome.  So  far  as  they  belong  to  the  three 
earliest  centuries,  those  old  tombs  and  monuments  of 
the  first  Christians  express  in  the  main  my  faith."  Here 
he  got  positively  angry,  and  it  was  plain  that  I  must 
not  proceed ;  but  there  was  something  in  the  expression 
with  which  our  two  neighbors  followed  the  conversa- 
tion that  was  puzzling  to  an  English  eye.  Whenever 
the  face  of  the  priest  was  turned  away,  they  looked  at 
me  with  the  most  lively  encouragement,  as  much  as  to 
say,  "  Go  on,  go  on ;"  whenever  his  eye  came  back  to- 
ward them,  the  countenances  were  as  still  as  if  they  had 
neither  a  thought  nor  a  feeling  inside  of  them. 

On  the  morning  of  Easter  Sunday,  on  entering  St. 


ROME   IN   HOLY   WEEK.  343 

Peter's,  we  found  a  considerable  number  of  persons  al- 
ready assembled.  Near  the  great  altar  is  one  curious 
black  statue,  said  by  some  to  be  an  old  Roman  image 
of  Jupiter ;  but,  whatever  its  origin,  now  representing 
St.  Peter.  You  see  a  peasant,  in  blue  jacket  and  red 
waistcoat,  going  reverently  up,  and  kissing  the  black 
stone  toe ;  then  his  wife,  in  her  red  petticoat,  tight 
bodice,  and  picturesque  head-dress,  bowing  down  and 
kissing  the  toe ;  and  then  a  decent  townswoman  bring- 
ing up  her  little  boy,  and  making  him  kiss  the  toe  of  the 
image ;  and  then  a  respectable-looking  foreigner,  appar- 
ently a  Belgian,  with  his  wife,  going  up  as  if  he  meant 
to  perform  this  act  of  devotion,  but,  when  he  reached 
the  statue,  stopping  and  looking  on.  Then  you  see  two 
old  ladies  in  elegant  black  dresses,  without  any  bonnet, 
as  the  ladies  are  required  to  come  on  those  great  occa- 
sions, and  they  kiss  the  toe ;  but  it  is  very  rare  to  see 
persons  of  this  condition  do  so. 

In  India  you  will  see  viler  images  and  more  abject 
prostration,  but  not  more  direct  and  open  image-wor- 
ship. There  is  not  even  a  shade  of  distinction  between 
the  idolatry  of  the  one  people  and  the  other.  A  Hin- 
doo, according  to  his  own  theories,  no  more  worships 
wood  and  stone  than  a  Romanist.  On  one  theory  every 
thing  is  the  supreme  God,  and  therefore  he  may  select 
what  object  he  will  for  adoration ;  on  another,  by  virtue 
of  consecration,  the  divinity  dwells  in  the  image,  and  it 
is  that  which  he  worships,-  and  not  the  material.  There 
seems  to  be  no  trace  any  where  of  nations  who  did  not 


344  ITALY   IN   TKANSITION. 

set  up  this  distinction,  to  -save  them  from  the  disgrace 
of  worshiping  their  own  handiwork;  but  no  distinc- 
tions alter  the  fact  that  they  make  the  image,  bow 
down  before  it,  go  to  it  for  help,  treat  it  as  if  it  were  a 
being  and  a  God.  This  is  the  true  idolatry,  against 
which  the  Old  Testament  is  one  continual  controversy, 
and  the  New  a  glorious  counter-institution. 

Within  a  few  yards  of  this  scene  is  a  temporary  plat- 
form, erected  and  closed  in  for  the  ladies.  It  is  already 
full.  We  find  a  little  reserved  box,  but  are  refused  ad- 
mission. A  nice  old  Frenchman  whispers  to  me,  "Just 
slij)  the  man  something,  and  he'll  let  the  ladies  in." 
They  had  no  sooner  taken  their  seats  than  an  ItaUan 
lady  came  up,  and  said  very  indignantly,  "That's  the 
way;  you  let  those  in  that  will  pay." 

With  perfect  ease  and  politeness,  "  Oh,  signora,"  he 
said,  "  those  ladies  have  come  in  by  the  order  of  an 
archbishop ;"  and  the  old  Frenchman,  giving  a  cunning 
look,  said,  "  Oh,  that's  the  way  at  all  these  festivals." 

Selecting  a  place  close  by  the  high  altar,  I  wait.  The 
crowd  gradually  increases,  or  rather  the  church  gradu- 
ally fills  up,  for  even  at  the  last  it  is  not  crowded. 
Close  about  me  nearly  all  are  foreigners.  Two  English 
clergymen  are  holduig  an  earnest  discussion  upon  the 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration.  Among  the  others, 
Antonelli  is  rather  a  favorite  topic  of  discourse;  but 
several  friars  coming  in  interfere  with  the  freedom 
which  had  been  used.  Just  above  the  altar,  what  is 
called  the  tribune,  or  the  choir,  is  partitioned  oif  by  a 


ROME   IN   HOLY   WEEK.  345 

living  rail  of  soldiers  and  halberds.  Into  this  holiest 
place  now  and  then  some  privileged  person  in  ribbon 
and  stars  passes.  Up  comes  a  young  lieutenant  in  High- 
land plume  and  kilt,  who  makes  for  the  inclosure,  ex- 
pecting that  his  uniform  will  carry  him  in,  but,  to  the 
amusement  of  his  compatriots,  he  is  sent  back.  After  a 
while  the  whole  of  the  nave  is  lined  with  Guards :  first 
the  Swiss  Guards,  in  their  harlequin  dress,  red,  and  yel- 
low, and  blue  hanging  in  artistic  stripes  about  them, 
every  man  as  tall  as  a  Horse  Guard ;  then  what  are 
called  the  Palatine  Guards,  a  body  formed  from  among 
the  citizens,  of  which  one  gets  two  accounts — that  of 
the  Civilta  Cattolica  being  that  they  have  been  recruit- 
ed by  a  wonderful  impulse  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the 
respectable  citizens;  the  other,  which  one  may  hear 
among  the  people,  that  most  respectable  men  have  been 
turned  out,  and  that  they  have  been  filled  up  by  per- 
sons whom  the  police  have  especially  selected.  At  all 
events,  they  are  beautifully  dressed,  and  make  a  fine 
show.  Then  the  ISToble  Guards  appear — that  rare  corps 
of  eighty  men,  every  one  with  a  title,  dressed  nearly 
like  our  Horse  Guards,  and  in  physical  a]3pearance 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  them.  At  last  the  pro- 
cession comes  in,  purple  and  scarlet,  and  muslin,  and 
embroidered  silk,  gilded  garments,  robes  of  changing 
red  and  yellow,  golden  robes,  robes  of  pure  white,  of 
violet,  of  lemon ;  white  mitres,  colored  mitres,  gilded 
mitres ;  stars,  ribbons,  and  plumes ;  ecclesiastical,  court- 
ly, military  adornments,  flashing  steel,  clattering  mus- 
P2 


346  ITALY   IX   TEANSITIOX. 

kets;  whole  files  of  men  down,  down  u2:>on  tlicir  knees; 
then,  borne  aloft,  two  great  fans  of  ostrich  feathers,  with 
a  peacock-feather  eye  upon  the  top  of  each ;  and  then, 
in  the  air,  the  towering  tiara,  with  its  three  circlets,  one 
for  the  kingly  oflice,  another  for  the  priestly,  the  third 
for  the  union  of  the  priestly,  kingly,  and  imperial.  It 
moves,  above  helmets,  halberds,  and  plumes,  aloft  to- 
ward the  vault  of  the  nave,  gliding  slowly  along ;  over 
it  a  moving  canopy  of  silk,  borne  on  golden  staves ;  un- 
der it,  that  fine  old  face,  smiling  the  never-ceasing  smile, 
and  the  old  hand  holding  itself  out,  and  blessing  with 
the  two  fingers,  as  if  there  was  some  mystic  power  in 
the  motion,  and  a  moment  must  not  be  lost  in  confer- 
ring the  benefits  of  it  upon  all  around.  "  The  portative 
throne"  is  a  magnificent  chair,  set  upon  a  litter,  such  as 
a  high-priest  in  India  may  sometimes  be  seen  borne 
upon  by  his  disciples  when  he  is  marching  for  great  re- 
ligious purposes ;  and  then  at  last  you  see,  under  this 
moving  pageant,  eight  men,  clothed  in  deep  crimson, 
bearers  of  the  vice-God. 

The  gliding  canopy,  the  flashing  crown,  the  smiling 
face,  the  thrice  gorgeous  robes,  the  rich  chair,  the  mov- 
ing litter,  the  crimson  men,  the  golden  poles,  the  pros- 
trate helmets  and  plumes,  the  flash,  flash,  flash  of  steel ; 
the  curious,  or  scrutinizing,  or  shocked,  or  half-adoring 
glance  of  so  many  eyes — altogether,  it  is  a  wonderful 
scene.  What  is  meant  by  the  ceremony  ?  *'  The  pro- 
cession represents  the  apostles  and  disciples  passing 
into  Galilee  to  meet  the  Savior ;  but  with  still  higher 


EOME  IN   HOLT   WEEK.  347 

meaning,  the  King  of  Glory  proceeding  with  the  assem- 
bly of  ransomed  spirits  from  Hades  into  the  realms  of 
bliss ;  and  from  this  procession  all  others  of  the  differ- 
ent Sundays  of  the  year  have  their  origin."* 

With  this  key  the  meaning  of  the  whole  scene  is 
opened.  They  are  acting  "  the  King  of  Glory  entering 
Paradise."  At  that  moment  you  see  crowns  carried 
immediately  before  the  throne,  besides  the  one  upon 
the  head,  and  then  recollect  that  the  books  tell  you  that 
the  crown  now  worn  was  presented  by  the  present 
Queen  of  Spain.  King  of  glory!  Queen  of  Spain! 
House  of  God!  Men  on  their  knees!  Antonelli! 
Day  of  Christ's  resurrection!  Roman  sbirri!  Lamo- 
riciere's  first  general  order  issued  this  holy  morning ! 
What  ideas !  The  mind  is  put  beyond  the  stage  of  re- 
volting, and  carried  into  that  of  simple  bewilderment. 

The  Swiss  had  hard  work  to  push  us  back  sufficient- 
ly to  make  way  for  the  procession  between  us  and  the 
altar ;  and,  when  it  had  passed  into  the  sacred  inclosure, 
there  were  two  thrones,  as  if  one  was  not  enough  for 
the  King  of  Glory;  and  all  we  can  see  now  are  the 
fans  held  high  up,  telling  us  that  the  old  man  is  set 
upon  the  ground.  As  to  these  fans,  Mr.  Hemans  gives 
us  the  following  useful  information : 

"  The  mystic  import  attached  to  them  is,  that  as  the 
eyes  of  peacock's  feathers  are  set  in  the  ostrich  plumes 
composing  these  graceful  implements,  vigilance  as  of 
many  eyes  is  required  from  the  pontiff,  that  he  may 

*  "  Lent  and  the  Holy  "Week  in  Rome.    By  C.  J.  Hemans, "  p.  1 63. 


348  ITALY   IN   TEANSITION. 

ever  watch  for  the  good  of  the  Catholic  common- 
wealth, and  be  thus  reminded  also  of  how  many  eyes 
are  fixed  upon  him,  whose  actions  are  scanned  by  the 
whole  world."  How  much  the  Catholic  commonwealth 
is  indebted  to  the  peacocks  would  be  a  deep  point  for 
discussion. 

As  to  the  import  of  the  throne,  the  same  gentleman 
informs  us  that  "  in  this  elevation  of  the  person  of  the 
pontiff  is  implied  that  the  vicar  of  Christ  is  the  centre 
to  which  the  eyes  of  the  faithful  should  turn,  as  to  a 
beacon-light  on  high,  for  their  guidance  and  consola- 
tion." King  of  Glory !  Yicar  of  Christ !  Centre  for 
the  eyes  of  the  faithful !  Light  on  high  for  guidance 
and  consolation !    And  it  is  an  Englishman  who  writes ! 

Just  before  us  is  the  altar — the  altar  of  God ;  and 
we  see  laid  upon  it  the  diadems  of  the  sovereign — his 
crown  on  the  altar,  his  joerson  on  the  throne.  Isow  be- 
gins the  ceremony ;  and  here  the  marvelous  art  of  gov- 
ernment by  shows  has  its  sublimest  triumph.  From 
one  throne  to  the  other  throne,  changing  mitres,  chang- 
ing robes,  changing  voices,  changing  postures ;  now  the 
steps  of  the  throne  lined  by  what  looks,  in  the  distance, 
like  ranks  of  spirits  in  white,  reminding  one  of  that 
picture  of  Martin's  called  the  Plains  of  Heaven.  Now 
you  see  ranks  in  red — now  they  move,  and  wave,  and 
circle  in  mystic  changes;  every  possible  combination 
of  color,  of  posture,  and  grouping,  to  give  at  the  dis- 
tance a  bewildering  and  dazzling  effect.  Now,  directly 
before  the  throne,  stands   one  as   it  were   an   angel 


KOME   IN   HOLY   WEEK.  349 

clothed  in  silver,  holding  up  a  book,  and  the  person  and 
the  book  together  serve  as  a  silver  veil,  so  that  above 
you  see  nothing  but  the  brow  and  the  crown  of  the 
"  King  of  Glory."  All  the  skill  below  the  sky  could 
not  more  perfectly  have  devised  the  means  of  convey- 
ing to  the  looker-on  the  idea  of  God  upon  earth.  Those 
who  are  used  to  it  chat  freely,  discussing  the  music  and 
he  men. 

The  friars  have  their  word  about  who  this  one  is, 
;  ind  Avho  that  one,  and  so  on.  But  presently  the  Pope 
•  comes  to  the  altar,  and  there  officiates.  M.  About  says 
that  he  performs  his  part  in  the  great  ceremonies  of  the 
Church  ill.  He  has  a  hasty  walk,  but,  with  that  excep- 
tion, he  seemed  to  be  the  most  impressive  man  they  had 
to  show  at  Rome.  He  went  through  his  part  of  the 
performance  at  the  altar  as  if  he  meant  every  motion  of 
his  hand,  every  word  of  his  lips.  One  did  believe  that 
the  soul  of  the  old  man  was  in  it.  What  was  wonder- 
ful, you  could  actually  distinguish  the  words ;  for  noth- 
ing is  rarer  than  to  be  able  to  catch  those  of  a  priest, 
even  when  as  near  him  as  we  now  were ;  and  at  one 
point,  just  about  the  moment  of  consecration,  when, 
according  to  his  own  belief,  he  was  (as  the  Friar  of 
Bologna  said),  by  a  few  divine  words,  changing  the 
elements  of  bread  and  wine  into  the  body,  blood,  soul, 
and  Divinity  of  Christ,  there  was  in  the  fine  face  of  the 
old  man  a  beam  that  looked  more  like  happy  devotion 
than  any  thing  I  had  seen  in  Rome.  The  dejected  de- 
votion fitting   conventual   ideas   you  see   upon   many 


350  ITALY   IN   Tr..\JS'SITIOX. 

countenances,  but  this  was  the  only  one,  except  per- 
haps those  of  some  nuns,  where  I  had  marked  such  an 
expression  as  this.  At  the  moment  that  the  Host  was 
elevated,  trumpets  pealed  out  somewhere — where  one 
could  not  tell.  Every  one  gave  a  different  account  of 
the  quarter  from  which  the  sound  came,  according  to 
the  position  they  had  been  in  at  the  time ;  and  this  was 
the  only  part  of  the  ceremony  that  did  any  thing  more 
than  make  one  wonder  at  the  art  of  priests  and  the 
simplicity  of  crowds.  It  was  pure,  soft,  silvery  music, 
streaming  out  from  you  could  not  tell  where,  but  filling 
that  vast  temple,  as  if  two  angels  had  been  whispering 
in  different  parts,  and  others  singing  behind  them.  Of 
course  the  soldiers  knelt  at  the  elevation  of  the  Host, 
while  "  the  King  of  Glory"  stood  at  the  altar.  Down 
they  went ;  the  friars  beside  and  behind  me  went  upon 
their  knees  too. 

Up  to  this  moment  I  had  been  in  the  front  rank  next 
to  the  Guards,  but  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  standing 
before  a  kneeling  man,  and  therefore  stepped  back  be- 
hind a  friar ;  for  no  one  else  seemed  to  think  of  kneel- 
ing but  the  soldiers  and  the  friars ;  thereby  I  lost  my 
good  position.  The  Pope  goes  back  from  the  altar  to 
the  throne,  seven  candelabra  being  borne  before  him 
(this  is  the  language  of  Mr.  Hemans),  "mystically  bear- 
ing reference  to  the  candlesticks  amid  which  appeared 
the  vision  of  the  Son  of  God  to  the  Evangelist,  also  to 
the  seven  gifts  of  the  Spirit."  Here,  again,  is  an  at- 
tempt to  represent  the  seven  lamps  before  the  throne 
of  "  the  Kini^  of  Glorv." 


HOME  IX  HOLY  WEEK.  351 

I  ouglit  to  have  mentioned  that  when  the  Pope  came 
to  the  altar,  the  sacristan  had,  in  his  presence,  to  eat 
two  out  of  the  three  wafers  that  had  been  prepared, 
and  to  drink  part  of  the  wine,  as  a  precaution  against 
poison.  It  was  not  until  after  being  thus  assured  that 
the  vicar  of  Christ  proceeded  to  turn  the  remaining 
w^afer  "into  the  body,  blood,  soul,  and  Divinity  of 
Christ."  Mr.  Hemans  says  that  this,  "  though  a  mere" 
form,  is  of  immemorial  usage  at  the  j)apal  high  mass. 
Then  two  cardinal  deacons  took  their  station  at  the 
altar,  as  we  are  told  by  the  same  authority,  to  represent 
the  two  angels  who  stood  at  the  sepulchre.  After  the 
Pope  has  gone  back  to  his  throne,  the  Host  and  the 
chalice  are  solemnly  carried  down  from  the  altar  along 
the  floor,  then  up  the  steps  of  the  throne.  Here  is  he 
seated  in  the  temple  of  God,  and  up  to  him  is  carried 
all  that  is  called  God — ^he  above,  it  below ;  his  crown 
at  this  moment  upon  the  altar,  his  enthroned  person 
higher  than  the  sacrament.  While  others  kneel  and 
prostrate  themselves  to  receive  it,  it  is  handed  to  him 
seated  upon  his  throne.  Seated,  he  takes  the  Host; 
seated,  the  chalice  from  men  upon  their  knees ;  but 
he  does  not  disturb  his  robe  to  take  the  cup  in  his 
hands.  A  golden  tube  is  in  it,  and  through  this  he 
sucks  a  little  of  the  wine.  Consecrated  particles  are 
presented  to  him  by  kneeling  men,  and  he  distributes 
them  from  that  throne  to  the  angels  in  white,  and  red, 
and  gold,  and  purple,  and  embroidery,  and  they  again 
to  those  who    are  kneeling  around  him.     After  this 


352  ITALY   IN  TEANSITION. 

pontiff  again  puts  on  tlie  triple  crown,  again  seats  him- 
self on  the  portative  throne,  and  the  chief  priest  of  St. 
Peter's  presents  him  with  a  purse  of  white  velvet,  con- 
taining the  fee  for  saying  mass. 

When  the  deacon  cardinals  were  at  the  altar,  one 
stood  for  a  considerable  time  on  our  side — a  tall, 
smooth",  well-looking  man.  The  whisper  went  round 
every  where,  "  Antonelli,  Antonelli!"  He  performed  his 
part  of  the  ceremony  with  more  grace  and  propriety 
than  many  of  the  priests,  but  without  any  of  the  ap- 
parent interest  the  old  Pope  seemed  to  take  in  it.  He 
had  in  his  appearance  none  of  the  qualities  which  his 
reputation  would  lead  one  to  expect ;  neither  ferocity 
nor  grossness,  nor  the  marks  upon  his  countenance  of 
those  struggles  with  conscience  through  which  men  go 
in  a  long  course  of  heavy  misdoing.  There  he  stood, 
looking  down  from  the  altar,  apparently  pleased  mth  it, 
the  soldiers,  himself,  the  ladies,  and  all  the  world.  He 
might  not  have  any  body  suspecting,  or  hating,  or 
dreading  him ;  he  rather  gave  you  the  impression  of 
one  of  those  smooth,  clear-headed,  strong,  narrow  men, 
just  made  to  ruin  governments  by  force  of  the  ability 
they  have  to  2:)ush  on  their  own  narrow  way  until  they 
knock  against  a  wall.  In  fact,  from  the  peculiar  kind  of 
complacency  that  seemed  hardly  to  smile  on  his  counte- 
nance, but  rather  to  underlie  it,  one  could  imagine  that 
he  took  pleasure,  as  some  of  those  narrow  men  do,  in 
the  idea  of  being  unpopular,  taking  it  as  a  tribute  to 
their  greatness ;  whereas  personal  impopularity  is  gon- 


EOME   IN    HOLY   WEEK.  353 

erally  the  effect  of  personal  faults,  though  unpopularity 
for  measures  may  be  simply  the  result  of  being  ahead 
of  your  day.  It  was  hard  to  look  on  that  countenance, 
and  think  he  was  so  bad  a  man  as  the  public  voice  rep- 
resents him.  One  has  strong  faith  in  conscience ;  and 
how  any  one  occupying  such  a  place  as  he  does  could 
commit  all  the  immoralities,  peculations,  tyrannies,  and 
betrayals  of  faith  which  are  laid  to  his  door,  without  his 
countenance  bearing  marks  of  internal  struggles,  was 
very,  hard  to  imagine.  Naming  this  to  a  gentleman 
occupying  a  place  under  the  government,  I  made  him 
laugh.  "  Conscience !"  he  said ;  "  what  conscience  could 
you  expect  Antonelli  to  have  to  struggle  with?  Do 
you  not  know  who  he  was  ?" 

*'  Oh !  it  can  not  be  true  that  he  is  the  nephew  of 
Gasparoni  ?"  the  Dick  Turpin  of  Italy. 

"  No,  I  do  not  say  he  was  a  nephew  of  his,  but  he 
was  a  relative.  You  know  very  well  he  belonged  to  a 
brigand  family  at  Sonnino ;  and  what  trouble  you  are 
to  expect  a  man  brought  up  as  a  brigand,  and  then 
trained  as  a  priest,  to  have  with  conscience,  I  do  not 
know." 

"  But  it  can  not  be  true  that  he  has  played  false  with 
the  public  money  in  the  way  the  people  say." 

"Where  did  the  money  come  from?"  he  replies. 
"  All  the  world  knows  what  the  Antonelli  family  were. 
They  were  brigands.  What  are  they  now  ?  There  are 
four  brothers :  the  first  is  the  man  we  are  talking  of,  in 
whose  hands  are  all  the  resources  of  the  state ;  the  sec- 


354  ITxVLY   IX   TEAXSITIOX. 

ond  is  governor  of  the  bank ;  the  third  fattens  upon 
monopoUes  and  taxes ;  and  Avhat  is  the  fourth  ?  The 
Stock  Exchange  agent  for  the  other  three.  He  is  to  be 
found  in  London,  Paris,  Amsterdam,  and  so  on ;  and  in 
all  these  places  the  investments  of  the  Antonelli  family 
are  something  fabulous.  "We  know  that  all  that  is  our 
money." 

Presently  the  great  procession  is  formed  again. 
Down  it  comes  from  the  choir,  sweeping  past  the  altar 
— soldiers,  priests,  bishops,  mitred  abbots,  cardinals,  sen- 
ators, embassadors,  officials  of  all  sorts,  going  forward, 
with  crowns,  and  candles,  and  crosses,  and  the  uplifted 
throne,  and  the  moving  canopy — until  at  last,  in  the 
middle  of  the  nave,  it  suddenly  stands.  The  old  man 
is  let  down,  and  goes  upon  his  knees,  and  immediately 
the  kneeling  ranks  stand  up  with  a  clatter  of  arms.  His 
face  is  directed  upward  as  if  in  adoration ;  and  yet  he 
appears  to  be  looking  at  some  object.  Following  the 
line  of  his  eye,  you  see  a  few  canons  in  white  up  on  the 
little  balcony,  where  the  reUcs  are  kept,  reminding  one 
of  Brahmins  in  white  robes  up  on  the  top  of  a  car  in 
India ;  and  they  are  holding  up  the  same  undiscernible 
somethiuGj  we  described  before — the  relics.  And  the 
embassadors  of  all  the  Catholic  powers,  and  some  Prot- 
estant ones,  and  all  this  multitude,  and  this  mighty  ar- 
ray of  armed  men,  are  gathered  here  to  see  this  poor  old 
man  set  the  world  the  example  of  adoring  relics.  While 
in  this  act  he  had  laid  off  the  tiara,  which  is  again  put 
on,  bringing  with  it  the  recollection  of  flic  Queen  of 


ROME   IN   HOLY  WEEK.  355 

Spain  and  Antonelli:  these  not  holy  ideas  every  now  and 
then  cross  the  mind ;  and  as  the  name  of  one  prelate 
after  another  is  whispered,  stories  that  you  have  heard — 
such  stories  as  might  be  gathered  up  in  Windsor  about 
the  court  of  George  the  Fourth,  put  together  with  some 
from  Cairo  about  the  doings  of  the  pashas — come  and 
go,  in  spite  of  one's  efforts  to  keep  them  out.  For  let 
it  be  said,  once  for  all,  that  when  Romans  begin  to  tell 
stories  about  the  private  life  of  the  Vatican,  you  had 
better  shut  your  ears.  Accounts  of  cruelty  may  be  re- 
peated in  England  without  doing  any  harm,  but  impu- 
rity leaves  a  soil  every  where. 

Again  the  throne  is  up  and  the  procession  formed, 
and,  according  to  usage,  the  Pope  ought  to  have  gone 
up  to  the  balcony  in  front  of  the  Cathedral,  from  it  to 
deliver  his  benediction.  To  fulfill  the  ideal  of  this  cere- 
mony, the  great  space,  with  its  colonnades  and  fount- 
ains, the  Vatican  on  one  side  and  the  Basilica  in  front, 
ought  to  be  crowded  with  people ;  the  sun  shining,  the 
Pope  upon  the  balcony  resplendent  in  all  the  glories  of 
his  court ;  and  then  that  wonderful  voice  of  his,  sound- 
ing out  to  the  extreme  length  of  the  place  in  sweet  and 
solemn  tones,  should  pronounce  the  words  of  the  Bene- 
diction. But  on  this  occasion  it  was  not  so.  The 
weather  had  set  in  gloomy  in  the  morning,  and  now  the 
rain  was  pouring  down,  as  it  does  in  Rome,  with  half- 
tropical  hurry.  There  could  be  no  out-of-door  Benedic- 
tion that  day ;  so  we  were  surprised  all  at  once,  when 
the  procession  appeared  to  be  on  the  point  of  going 


356  ITALY    IN   TKANSITIOX. 

away,  to  find  it  stop  just  before  where  the  ladies  had 
got  into  the  private  box,  and  where  we  then  all  happen- 
ed to  be.  Seated  aloft,  with  the  book  held  up  to  him, 
the  old  man,  with  the  finest  grace,  with  commanding 
and  pleasing  notes,  intoned  so  that  every  child  in  the 
Church  might  have  heard  him,  lifting  up  his  hands: 
"  May  the  holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  in  whose  pow- 
er and  authority  we  confide,  intercede  for  us  with  the 
Lord.  Amen !  Through  the  prayers  and  merits  of  the 
blessed  Mary  ever  Virgin,  and  the  blessed  Michael  the 
Archangel,  and  the  blessed  John  the  Baptist,  and  the 
holy  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  all  saints,  may  the 
omnipotent  God  have  mercy  upon  you !  May  all  your 
sins  be  remitted.  May  Jesus  Christ  lead  you  to  eter- 
nal life.  Amen !  Indulgence,  absolution,  and  remission 
of  all  your  sins,  space  for  true  and  fruitful  rej)entance, 
hearts  ever  contrite,  and  amendment  of  life,  may  the 
omnipotent  and  merciful  God  afibrd  you.  Amen !  And 
may  the  blessing  of  the  omnipotent  God,  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  descend  upon  you,  and  remain  with 
you  ever.  Amen  !"  It  was  only  the  last  sentence  that 
was  pronounced  standing;  all  the  rest  came  from  the 
potentate  seated  upon  the  throne.  But  as  he  was  pro- 
nouncing the  word  "blessing,"  he  rose,  made  the  sign 
of  the  cross  upon  the  front,  then  on  the  one  side,  then 
on  the  other,  over  the  people ;  at  the  word  "  descend" 
stretching  out  his  arms  to  heaven ;  and  then  folding 
them  over  his  breast  with  feeling,  grace,  and  powerful 
impression.  Each  motion  is  regularly  prescribed,  and 
to  be  found  in  the  books. 


EOME    IN    HOLY   WEEK.  357 

The  ceremony  was  over,  and  that  which  the  Romans 
looked  to  as  the  best  part  of  it  was  not  to  come.  The 
rain  had  stopped  the  ilkimination ;  there  was  to  be  no 
glory  on  St.  Peter's  that  night,  none  of  the  usual  splen- 
did display  of  fire- works  in  the  beautiful  gardens  of  the 
Pincian  Hill — as  fine  a  promenade  as  any  one  need  wish 
for,  with  full  views  of  existing,  and  endless  recollections 
of  ancient  Rome.  The  programme  of  the  day  had  in- 
cluded Lamoriciere's  General  Order,  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Church,  the  out-door  Benediction,  and  the  fire- works : 
the  two  last  items  failed. 

On  my  return  to  Florence  I  happened  again  to  sit  at 
table  next  to  a  Roman  alluded  to  in  the  chapter  on  that 
city,  who  appeared  to  have  entirely  recovered  his  spir- 
its, and  to  be  full  of  hope,  taking  great  heart  from  the 
doings  of  that  Easter  Sunday.  General  Lamoriciere, 
appointed  in  the  Po2:)e's  name  to  train  foreigners  to  kill 
Italians,  had  called  the  patriots  "  Mussulmen."  Thus, 
as  he  thought,  the  Pope  had  committed  a  final  blun- 
der; the  general  had  made  a  "buffoon"  of  himself;  and 
the  conscience  of  every  honest  man  in  the  country  was 
engaged  against  them  both.  Then,  he  said,  "The 
weather  turned  revolutionist,  and  drowned  the  blessing 
from  the  balcony  and  the  illuminations  altogether." 

As  we  left  in  the  midst  of  a  pouring  rain,  taking  a  last 
look  on  that  Basilica,  the  feelings  were  as  solemn  as  the 
Aveather  was  dull.  And  this  is  the  great  temple  of  the 
Romish  Church,  and  we  have  been  witnessing  to-day 
her  highest  model  of  Christian  worship  !     Except  the 


358  ITALY   IX  TRANSITION. 

words  of  the  Benediction,  there  has  not  been  one  sylla- 
ble for  eye  to  read  or  ear  to  hear  conveying  sense  to  a 
human  mind ;  and  even  they  were  in  a  dead  language. 
It  is  a  Christian  temple,  yet  it  is  full  of  images ;  men 
are  bowing  down  to  them,  and  saying  prayers  before 
them,  and  kissing  them.  It  is  a  Christian  temple,  and 
yet  no  word  either  of  the  law  of  God  or  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  can  be  read  among  its  innumerable  inscriptions 
in  the  language  of  the  people.  A  Christian  temple,  and 
yet  never  does  human  voice  within  it  read,  so  as  to 
reach  the  understanding,  one  word  that  Christ  said  or 
an  apostle  wrote.  It  is  a  Christian  temple,  and  yet  in 
it  one  shows  himself  for  the  kneeling  worship  of  his  fel- 
low-man, receiving  honors  that  earthly  kings  do  not 
claim,  receiving  them  in  God's  house,  and  before  what 
is  called  God's  altar :  when  he  kneels,  men  stand  up ; 
when  he  rises,  men  kneel  down.  Words  ring  in  one's 
ear,  foretelling  that  falling  away,  and  the  coming  of  that 
strange  power,  "  the  man  of  sin,"  one  of  whose  charac- 
teristics was  this,  that  he  should  "  exalt  liimself  above 
all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is  worshiped ;  so  that  Jie 
as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing  himself 
that  he  is  God."  The  very  words  of  this  passage  seem- 
ed burned  into  the  heart  by  the  proceedings  of  that 
morning.  He  does  not  say  that  he  is  God,  but  as  God 
sits  in  the  temple ;  and,  without  saying  that  he  is  God, 
"  shows  himself  that  he  is."  Image-worship  is  bad,  and 
its  effects  upon  the  human  mind  are  always  debasing, 
as  the  history  of  every  heathen  and  every  relapsed  Chris- 


EOME   IN   HOLY   WEEK.  .  359 

tian  nation  proves ;  but  there  is  something  in  this  man- 
worship  more  directly  degrading  and  demoralizing. 
Some  sophism  by  which  you  adore  an  invisible  being 
through  an  image  may  keep  a  mind  tolerably  free  from 
a  sense  of  direct  degradation ;  but  falling  down  upon 
the  knees  in  multitudes  before  a  man  in  the  house  of 
God  is  such  an  outrage  at  once  upon  all  the  feelings  of 
humanity,  and  all  the  theory,  riot  to  say  the  practice,  of 
the  religion  of  the  Bible,  that  religion  and  manliness  go 
down  together,  and  the  whole  nature  falls  into  the  posi- 
tion of  a  ser'^ile  instrument  of  whatever  may  come  from 
the  lips  of  the  vice-God ;  and  this  is  done  under  the 
profession  of  being  vicar  of  Christ,  and  representing  the 
King  of  Glory. 

When  He  who  was  indeed  the  Lord  of  Glory  dwelt 
here  among  us  in  a  human  frame,  men  did  behold  His 
glory,  but  it  was  another  than  this ;  it  was  the  glory 
full  of  grace  and  truth ;  and  so  careful  was  he  not  to 
connect  any  manifestations  of  Divine  majesty  with  the 
human  form,  that  on  the  only  occasion  when  he  did  per- 
mit a  supernatural  manifestation  to  transfigure  the 
marred  and  humble  face  that  is  never  described  to  us. 
He  placed  Himself  in  careful  seclusion,  with  only  three 
chosen  witnesses  to  look  upon  Him.  And  when  for 
one  single  hour  he  did  accept  kingly  human  honors.  He 
took  care  that  a  humble  steed  and  a  meek  bearing 
should  be  His  protest  beforehand  against  all  pomp  in 
His  name,  and  against  all  man-worship,  under  any  and 
every  circumstance.    After  witnessing  a  scene  like  that, 


360.  ITxVLY   IN   TEANSITION. 

one  can  no  longer  be  angry  at  popery  or  rail  at  Rome. 
The  departure  from  even  the  very  theories  of  the  Bible 
is  too  complete.  The  assumption  to  represent  and  even 
to  personate  the  Godhead  is  too  unblushing ;  the  super- 
stition too  low ;  the  claim  to  entire  command  of  men's 
prmciples  and  souls,  of  their  moral  selves  and  being,  is 
too  dreadful  to  permit  of  irritation.  The  feehng  is  awe 
— deep  awe  and  horror.  You  feel  face  to  face  with  a 
destroying  power.  Those  courts  and  chambers  around 
you  whisper  of  stories  that  would  make  you  shudder 
even  in  Benares  or  Constantinople.  The  tracts  which 
encircle  the  city  mourn  under  the  sorrows  of  desolation 
and  oppression  joined  together,  and  seem  written  over 
with  the  woes  denounced  by  the  old  prophets  against 
apostate  lands. 


Clmptn  m. 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  ROME  DURING  THE 

TEN  YEARS  OF  RESTORATION  AS 

SHOWN  BY  THE  OFFICIAL 

DOCUMENTS. 


Q 


The  first  act  of  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte  as  a  man 
^vas  to  appear  in  arms,  a  rebel  against  the  government 
of  the  Pope ;  his  first  as  a  ruler  was  to  turn  the  arms 
of  France  against  those  who  had  succeeded  in  over- 
throwing it. 

When  General  Oudinot  entered  Rome  at  the  head  of 
his  victorious  troops,  the  people,  beaten,  but  not  cowed, 
surrounded  him,  crying,  "Italy  forever!  Liberty  for- 
ever! Down  with  the  temporal  power!"  Touched 
with  a  soldier's  generosity,  he  displayed  his  interest 
particularly  in  the  officers  of  the  Roman  army,  who 
crowded  to  demand  their  passports,  that  they  might 
become  voluntary  exiles  while  yet  there  was  time.  He 
begged  them  to  stay,  saying  that  the  army  would  be 
maintained ;  and  especially  urged  this  on  General  Bar- 
tolucci,  who  had  held  the  chief  command  of  the  cavalry 
during  the  siege,  saying, "  Why  should  you  refuse  to 
serve  a  government  which,  even  if  it  be  that  of  the 
Pope,  will  still  be  both  Italian  and  Constitutional?" 
"  General,"  replied  Bartolucci,  "  I  have  had  too  sorrow- 
ful proofs  in  prisons  of  what  the  clerical  government  is 
to  venture  on  another.     The  day  will  come,  perhaps. 


364  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

when  you  will  call  to  mind  these  words,  and  it  is  not 
far  off.     I  beg  you  to  give  me  my  passport." 

Five  days  after  he  had  entered  Home,  General  Oudi- 
not,  in  the  faith  of  an  honest  man,  representing  a  great, 
and,  at  that  moment,  triumphant  nation,  published  an 
important  decree,  signed  with  his  own  name.  Its  first 
article  dissolved  the  existing  National  Guard,  to  please 
the  restored  government;  the  second  article  re-estab- 
lished the  National  Guard  upon  its  ancient  principles, 
thus  giving  back  to  the  citizens  a  material  guarantee  of 
their  liberties.  The  general  found  that  the  first  article 
was  immediately  executed ;  as  to  the  second,  obstacles 
were  interposed  which  even  he  was  unable  to  over- 
come. Thus  Rome  had  the  double  satisfaction  of  break- 
ing its  own  faith,  and  forcing  a  great  nation,  to  which 
it  owed  its  restoration,  to  appear  as  its  accomplice  in 
the  act. 

The  spirit  in  which  the  clerical  authorities  peci^ed 
from  behind  their  hedge  of  French  bayonets  was  first 
indicated  in  this  act,  and  it  is  fully  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing circular,  to  be  found  in  the  second  volume  of 
the  "  Documents,"  p.  649,  650.  The  Criminal  and  Civil 
Court  of  Fuhgno,  on  April  27th,  1849,  delivered  a  judg- 
ment, in  which  it  records  how  commissioners  visited  a 
convent,  found  the  brother  Philip  Rossi,  Abbot,  and 
Yicar  of  the  Inquisition,  who  told  them  that  he  had 
known  that  they  were  coming  for  three  days,  and  had 
taken  care  to  destroy  the  documents  belonging  to  the 
Holy  Office,  and  others  besides.    The  tone  in  which  he 


PAPAL  GOVEENMENT  IN  KOME.  365 

did  this  roused  suspicion ;  he  was  searched,  and,  among 
other  documents,  the  following  was  found  upon  him : 

"CiKCULAE  N".  167.  R.  P.  Alpha  +. 
"  Beloved  Beethee]^-, — The  God  of  mercies,  before 
giving  His  faithful  people  the  glory  of  Paradise,  loves 
that  they  should  gain  the  palm  of  martyrdom.  Calam- 
itous vicissitudes,  which  press  upon  humanity  and  re- 
ligion, demand  that  you,  beloved  brethren,  should  use 
all  the  means  which  are  in  your  power  to  reconquer  all 
our  violated  rights,  and  to  destroy  the  machinations  of 
our  enemies.  The  Liberals,  the  Jacobites,  the  Car- 
bonari,' the  Republicans,  are  only  synonymous  terms. 
They  wish  to  destroy  religion  and  all  its  ministers ;  we, 
on  the  other  hand,  must  destroy — even  to  the  very 
ashes  of  their  race.  Go  on  in  your  zeal,  training  the 
friars  in  your  neighborhood,  and  the  country  people,  as 
you  have  always  done  in  time  past ;  tell  them  that,  at 
the  sound  of  the  church  bells,  they  must  not  be  wanting 
at  the  holy  muster,  where  every  one  of  us  must  without 
pity  plunge  his  weapons  into  the  bosoms  of  the  pro- 
faners  of  our  most  holy  religion.  Think  upon  the  vows 
which  arise  from  us  to  the  Almighty :  they  are  to  de- 
stroy, to  the  last  man,  our  enemies,  not  excepting  in- 
fants, to  prevent  the  vengeance  which  these  would  one 
day  exercise  upon  our  disciples.  Then,  in  fine,  see  to 
it,  that  when  we  shall  send  out  the  cry  for  reaction, 
every  one  of  you  shall  fearlessly  imitate  us. 

"Alpha  +  P.  C.  R.,  Gaeta,  February  15th." 


366  ITALY  IN  TEANSmON. 

This  document  indicates  the  spirit  infused  into  the 
working  clergy.  So  soon  as  the  French  government 
became  aware  how  dark  were  the  prospects  for  the 
country  on  which  they  had  forced  His  Holiness,  the 
President  of  the  Republic  interj^osed  in  that  famous 
letter  to  Edgar  !N'ey,  which  served  as  a  public  protest, 
that  France  could  only  be  the  minister  of  civilized  and 
rational  government.  The  manner  in  which  this  was 
met  will  sufficiently  appear  from  the  following  letter  of 
Cardinal  Antonelli  to  the  governors  of  the  provinces,  in 
which  he  coolly  sets  aside  every  intimation  conveyed  in 
the  president's  document,  and  even  says  that  the  French 
authorities  in  Rome  themselves  regard  it  with  disfavor. 

"Most  Illusteious  and  Reveeend  Sie, 
"A  lettee  which  assumes  to  be  written  by  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  French  Republic  to  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Ney  in  Rome  has  given  increased  audacity  to  the  band 
of  libertines,  the  sworn  enemies  of  the  pontifical  gov- 
ernment ;  and  rumors  are  every  where  spread  about 
that  it  is  intended  to  impose  burdensome  conditions  on 
the  Holy  See.  The  anarchical  party,  in  consequence  of 
these  expectations,  displays  an  insulting  attitude,  as  it 
believes  and  hopes  to  recover  itself  from  the  discom- 
fiture it  has  undergone.  But  this  letter  has  not  any 
official  chaeactee,  being  merely  the  product  of  a 
private  correspondence.  I  will  add,  also,  that  even  by 
the  French  authorities  in  Rome  it  is  viewed  with  dis- 
pleasure. 


PAPAL   GOVEENMENT   IN   EOME.  367 

"The  Holy  Father  is  seriously  occupying  himself 
about  giving  to  his  subjects  such  reforms  as  he  believes 
useful  to  their  true  and  sohd  good ;  nor  has  any  power 
imposed  laws  upon  him  in  reference  to  this,  he  aiming 
to  attain  so  important  an  end  without  betraying  the 
duties  of  his  own  conscience. 

"  Profit  by  this  intimation  to  contradict  the  falsehood 
promulgated  to  the  prejudice  of  public  order,  and  satis- 
fy every  one  that  it  is  the  interest  of  all  the  powers  to 
sustain  the  liberty  and  independence  of  the  supreme 
pontiff  for  the  peace  of  Europe. 

"  With  sentiments  of  distinguished  esteem,  I  sub- 
scribe myself,  most  reverend  and  illustrious  sir,  your 
most  affectionate  servant, 

"  G.  CaEDINAL  Aiq^TOlSTELLI.* 
*'Portici,  September  8tb,  1849." 

N"ow  came  the  great  question  for  the  Romans — 
whether  or  not  the  Constitution  w^hich  the  Pope  had 
granted  them  in  1848  would  be  abolished.  Suspicions 
that  it  would  were  generally  entertained ;  but  up  to 
the  day  of  the  battle  of  Novara,  the  documents  issued 
by  the  exiled  prince  uniformly  appealed  to  the  Consti- 
tution itself  as  an  existing  pact  between  him  and  the 
people.  In  that  solemn  instrument,  the  Pope  had  de- 
scribed the  new  representative  institutions  as  the  re- 
establishment  of  an  old  right  of  the  Roman  people. 
"  In  ancient  times,  our  boroughs  {comuni)  had  the  priv- 
*  ''Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  liv. 


368  ITALY   IN  TEANSinON. 

ilege  of  self-government,  under  laws  selected  by  tliem- 
selvesj  with  the  sanction  of  the  sovereign.  The  char- 
acter of  modern  civilization  would  not  permit  that  the 
same  form  of  government  should  be  renewed,  because, 
through  the  diversity  of  laws  and  usages,  different  mu- 
nicipalities were  completely  estranged  one  from  anoth- 
er ;  but  we  are  now  about  to  confide  this  prerogative 
to  two  councils  of  trusty  and  patriotic  citizens,  one  of 
which  shall  be  nominated  by  us,  the  other  returned 
from  every  part  of  the  state  by  a  fitting  form  of  elec- 
tion." 

Notwithstanding  this  appeal  to  the  antiquity  of  the 
rights  embodied  in  the  new  Constitution,  it  might  be 
said  that  the  Pope  conceded  it  under  pressure  of  fear. 
None,  however,  will  deny  that,  during  the  time  he  staid 
in  the  NeapoHtan  States,  he  was  a  perfectly  free  agent, 
and  every  public  document  he  issued  a  spontaneous  act. 
On  the  Yth  of  December  (1848)  he  put  forth  a  procla- 
mation formally  dissolving  the  two  chambers.  In  this 
he  appeals  to  the  Constitution,  calling  it  "the  funda- 
mental statute ;"  citing  the  fourteenth  article  as  the  law 
of  the  realm,  in  virtue  of  which  he  issues  the  decree. 
He  then  prorogues  the  two  chambers,  saying  that  he 
reserves  to  himself  the  right  to  determine  "the  day 
when  they  shall  be  convoked  anew."  On  the  13th  of 
December  of  the  same  year.  Cardinal  Antonelli  issued  a 
circular  to  the  embassadors  at  the  papal  court,  in  which 
he  informs  them  that,  at  the  date  above  mentioned,  the 
Holy  Father  had  thought  it  well  to  issue  a  decree  pro- 


PAPAL  GOVEKNMENT  IN  KOME.         369 

roguing  the  houses,  according  to  the  terms  of  "  the  fun- 
damental statute." 

On  the  18th  of  February,  1849,  Cardmal  AntoneUi 
addresses  to  foreign  courts  a  note,  in  which  he  refers  to 
the  gracious  acts  whereby  the  pontiff  had  entitled  him- 
self to  the  love  and  gratitude  of  his  people.  "  The  Holi- 
ness of  our  Lord  in  the  first  days  of  his  pontificate  had 
no  other  aim  than  to  show  beneficence  to  his  subjects, 
providing,  in  every  respect,  for  their  highest  good,  ac- 
cording to  the  exigencies  of  the  times."  In  fact,  after 
having  pronounced  the  words  of  pardon  to  those  who, 
for  political  crimes,  were  then  exiled  or  lay  in  prisons, 
after  having  instituted  the  Council  of  State  and  the 
Council  of  Ministers,  and  accorded,  from  the  imperious 
force  of  circumstances,  the  institution  of  the  Civic 
Guard,  a  new  law  for  a  decent  liberty  of  the  press,  and, 
in  fine,  "  the  fundamental  statute  for  the  States  of  the 
Church,  he  had  surely  a  right  to  that  gratitude  which 
subjects  owe  to  a  prince  who  regards  them  as  his  chil- 
dren, and  was  promising  them  a  reign  of  love  ! 

His  Holiness  had  appointed  a  commission  during  his 
absence,  who  posted  upon  the  walls  of  the  palace  at 
Castel  Gondolfo  a  formal  protest  against  the  things 
that  had  been  done  and  were  doing  in  Rome ;  and 
among  their  causes  of  complaint  they  allege  "  the  arbi- 
trary dissolution  of  the  representative  houses."  Final- 
ly, the  Pope  himself,  in  a  secret  Consistory  held  in  Gaeta 
on  the  20th  of  April,  when  the  French  were  just  about 
laying  siege  to  Rome,  delivered  an  "allocution,"  in 
Q  2 


370  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

which  lie  appeals  to  those  "  largesses  which  were  by  us 
voluntarily  and  spontaneously  conceded  in  the  first  days 
of  our  pontificate,"  complaining  that  they  had  produced 
no  fruit  of  loyalty  in  his  people ;  and  he  used  this  lan- 
guage :  "  Every  one  of  you  well  knows  how  a  constitu- 
tional form  of  government  was  introduced  into  Italy, 
and  how,  on  the  14th  day  of  March,  in  the  last  year, 
came  into  light  the  statute  conceded  by  us  to  our  sub- 
jects. But  as  the  implacable  enemies  of  order  and  pub- 
lic repose  aim  on  all  occasions  but  to  use  their  efibrts 
against  the  pontifical  government,  and  incessantly  to 
agitate  the  people  with  uneasiness  and  suspicions,  by 
means  of  the  press,  of  clubs,  of  committees,  and  of  other 
artifices,  they  never  wearied  of  factiously  calumniating 
the  government,  although  it  was  using  all  solicitude  and 
zeal  that  the  statute  so  much  desired  should  be  publish- 
ed with  the  greatest  possible  dispatch."* 

Tliere  remained,  therefore,  no  question,  first,  that  the 
Pope  avowed  the  Constitution  to  have  been  his  omti 
voluntary  act ;  and,  secondly,  that  so  long  as  his  power 
to  force  himself  back  \rpon  his  people  remained  in  doubt, 
he  constantly  appealed  to  it  as  the  fundamental  pact  ex- 
isting between  him  and  them. 

Up  to  that  time  the  people  had  faith  in  his  probity : 
and,  however  much  they  suspected  those  around  him, 
thought  Pio  Xono  incapable  of  deliberately  perjuring 
himself  to  his  subjects.  Still  the  impression  began  to 
gain  ground  that  the  Constitution  Avould  be  annulled. 
*  Sec  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  1,  ct  scq. 


PAPAL   GOVERNMENT   IN   EOME.  371 

To  the  credit  of  the  Marquesses  Bevilacqua  and  Ricci, 
two  of  the  Pope's  high  officers,  they  had  delivered  their 
solemn  protest  against  his  long  stay  away  from  his  own 
states,  saying  that  his  enemies  used  it  to  draw  infer- 
ences— though  unjustly — of  different  political  principles 
from  those  he  publicly  professed.  They  pointed  out 
how  useful  it  would  be  that  the  word  of  the  sovereign 
should  assure  the  doubtful  against  "  the  malignant  in- 
sinuations that  there  may  be  a  tendency  in  the  councils 
of  the  prince  to  take  away  the  liberties  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, and  to  deviate  from  the  system  of  benignity  which 
was  and  is  the  glory  of  the  reigning  pontiff,"  as  also  the 
great  importance  that  government  should,  in  its  institu- 
tions, "  and  in  every  act,  observe  not  only  the  essence, 
but  the  forms  of  constitutional  government." 

All  this  proved  futile  ;  other  counsels  prevailed ;  and 
at  last,  on  the  12th  of  September,  1849,  appeared  that 
celebrated  motib  proprio^  by  which  the  Constitution  was 
brushed  aside  as  if  it  had  been  the  dust  deposited  by 
the  wind  of  revolution,  and  the  court  of  Rome  re-estab- 
(ished  itself  on  the  double  basis  of  foreign  bayonets  and 
broken  faith.  The  documents  from  which  these  facts 
are  drawn  will  be  found  in  vol.  i.,  p.  1-47. 

Then  sounded  out  a  word  which  has  often  been  one 
of  healing  to  a  fevered  country,  but  w^hich,  since  the 
day  that  it  fell  from  the  lips  of  Pio  Nono,  has  ever  been 
the  bitterest  word  his  subjects  could  pronounce ;  and 
among  them  one  may  hear  human  tones  pass  through 
every  variation  of  contempt,  anguish,  despair,  shame, 
and  rag^c,  as  thev  iittor  tho  sweot  word  "  Amncstv." 


372  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

Under  pretense  of  pardon  a  document  was  issued,  in 
which  whole  classes  were  pubhcly  excluded  from  the 
mercy  naturally  expected  from  a  prince  returning  to 
renew  interrupted  relations  with  his  people:  every 
member  of  the  provisional  government,  every  member 
of  the  Constituent  Assembly,  every  member  of  the  Tri- 
umvirate and  the  Republican  government,  all  the  chiefs 
of  the  mihtary  corps,  all  who  had  ever  come  under  any 
existing  penal  law ;  and,  besides,  every  person  who  had 
any  government  employment,  metropolitan,  provincial, 
or  municipal,  in  the  army,  or  in  the  police,  was  warned 
that  his  appointment  would  not  hold  good.  Frightful 
as  was  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  Uberties  and  interests 
thus  decreed  upon  paper,  it  was  yet  more  horrible  in  its 
mode  of  execution ;  for  the  clerical  authority,  as  has  ap- 
peared in  the  chapter  upon  the  Romagna,  stretched  its 
wide  terms  so  as  to  include  all  who  could  be  trouble- 
some in  the  fell  swoop  of  condemnation. 

^Now  began  a  struggle  between  governors  and  peo- 
ple which  has  never  relaxed  for  a  single  day.  Among 
the  modes  of  popular  resistance,  one  was  a  refusal  to 
smoke  tobacco,  because  it  yielded  a  revenue  to  the  gov- 
ernment; and  in  the  "Official  Journal"  of  the  13th  of 
June,  1851,  the  following  article  of  police  intelligence 
may  be  found :  "  Mary  Biaggi,  of  the  city  of  Castello, 
having  been  convicted,  upon  the  testimony  of  sworn 
witnesses,  of  having  insulted  peaceful  smokers,  has  been 
condemned  to  receive  twenty  strokes  of  the  lash.  Ac- 
cording to  the  existing  laws  against  the  disturbers  of 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  EOME.         373 

public  order,  she  has  suffered  the  penalty  at  Perugia,  on 
the  9th  instant."*  This  penalty  of  the  "lash,"  and  that 
of  the  "  cudgel,"  had  been  freely  used  for  many  years, 
when  Cardinal  Antonelli  thought  it  well  to  inscribe  it 
in  the  laws ;  and,  accordingly,  a  decree  will  be  found 
signed  by  him,  and  dated  on  the  30th  of  July,  1855,  in 
s,which  the  punishment  of  the  "  cudgel"  is  formally  pre- 
scribed. 

The  ease  with  which  severe  punishments  can  be  ap- 
plied may  be  seen  from  the  following,  of  an  earlier  pe- 
riod, signed  by  Cardinal  Bernetti.  "  As  the  charge  of 
insulting  a  poUceman,  for  which  L.  Sevignano  was  ar- 
rested, has  not  been  proved ;  and  considering  the  other 
circumstances,  and  the  not  short  imprisonment  which 
he  suffered ;  the  Holiness  of  our  Lord,  to  whom  I  have 
submitted  the  report  of  the  trial  transmitted  by  your 
excellency  in  the  dispatch  of  the  4th  instant,  has  gra- 
ciously deigned  to  condescend  to  accord  to  him  release 
from  prison.  At  the  same  time,  he  is  to  be  laid  under 
solemn  injunction  to  conduct  himself  well,  and  he  is  to 
be  bound  by  such  other  conditions  as  your  excellency 
shall  judge  necessary,  under  penalty  of  penal  servitude 
for  five  years,  to  be  incurred  simply  by  the  fact  of  trans- 
gression, independently  of  whatever  penalties  are  assign- 
ed by  the  laws,  in  case  of  any  other  offenses."f  Thus  a 
man  against  whom  nothing  is  joroved,  who  has  already 
suffered  a  long  imprisonment,  is  to  have  hanging  over 
his  head,  besides  all  penalties  written  in  the  laws,  should 

*  *'  Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  xcviii.  f  Ihid.^  vol.  ii.,  p.  595. 


374  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

he  incur  tliera,  another  dictated  by  the  simple  will  of 
the  minister,  to  be  inflicted  without  the  trouble  of  a 
trial,  and  that  no  less  than  five  years'  penal  servitude ! 

On  the  9th  of  February,  1851,  a  Roman  of  the  name 
of  Dreosti,  and  a  Frenchwoman  of  the  name  of  Clarisse, 
on  the  Pincian  Hill,  burned  Bengal  lights  in  the  Italian 
tri-color — green,  white,  and  red,  and  they  were  con- 
demned to  twenty  years  of  the  galleys;  but  the  woman 
being  a  French  subject,  and  the  authorities  of  that  na- 
tion interposing,  the  penalty  was  commuted  into  that 
of  exile.  On  the  iVth  of  February,  1852,  four  men 
were  condemned  by  the  same  court  for  the  same  offense, 
of  burning  Bengal  lights  of  the  tri-color — one  to  two 
years,  and  the  other  to  the  galleys  for  life,  and  the  oth- 
ers, one  to  five  years,  and  the  other  to  twenty  years  of 
the  galleys.  Of  these  poor  fellows,  two  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  in  the  Romagna  on  the  1 2th  of  June  last, 
when  the  government  of  the  priests  fell ;  but  the  oth- 
ers are  still  in  hold.* 

On  the  Cth  of  September,  1850,  sixteen  executions 
took  place  in  the  city  of  Bologna.  According  to  the 
laws  of  the  Roman  States,  no  one  can  be  cajiitally  pun- 
ished under  age ;  and  among  the  sixteen  were  two  mi- 
nors. This  was  the  case  that  has  given  M.  About  the 
bitter  sarcasm,  that  Pio  Nono  had  conferred  two  years 
of  age  upon  youths  that  they  might  have  the  privilege 
of  being  hanged.  One  Joseph  Marchetti  was  shot  for 
stealing  seventy-seven  halfpence. 

*  "Documents,"  vol. }.,  p. xcix. 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  ROME.         375 

A  new  invention  was  adopted  at  Rome,  well  calcu- 
lated to  uproot  the  last  foundation  of  civil  morality,  and 
to  drive  from  the  hearts  of  men  any  remaining  idea  that 
they  had  a  home  or  a  country.  This  consisted  of  a  se- 
cret court,  established  in  every  province,  composed  of 
the  governor  or  delegate,  of  a  councilor,  a  priest,  and  a 
private  citizen ;  but,  to  the  immortal  praise  of  Italians 
be  it  told,  that  the  archives  of  the  Romagna  do  not 
show  a  single  case  in  which  any  private  citizen  did  not 
refuse  the  disreputable  office  tendered  to  him  by  the 
government ;  and,  therefore,  those  courts  were  actually 
composed  only  of  persons  in  the  public  pay.  At  the 
head  of  them  all  was  placed — not  an  Italian,  but  a  for- 
eigner— an  implacable  Spanish  prelate  of  the  name  of 
Avella,  who,  more  thoroughly  legitimist  than  the  Pope 
himself,  would  never  acknowledge  Isabella,  but,  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  called  Don  Carlos  King  of  Spain. 
Under  the  authority  of  this  worthy  and  his  subordinate 
councils  were  placed  all  persons  who  held  any  public 
or  semi-public  employment — in  the  army,  the  Church, 
the  !N"ational  Guard,  government  or  municipal  offices,  or 
factories  holding  a  government  monopoly,  such  as  to- 
bacco. Their  duties  were  to  keep  them  in  surveillance^ 
and  deal  with  them  as  they  pleased.  The  accused  per- 
son never  had  any  idea  of  charge,  accuser,  judges,  or 
proceedings.  All  he  knew  was  that,  at  a  certain  mo- 
ment, a  man  walked  into  his  house  with  a  sentence  in 
his  hand,  by  which  he  was  dismissed,  or  suspended,  or 
removed  to  some  distant  place. 


370  ITALY    IN   TKANSITION. 

One  clay  in  the  streets  of  Rome  one  Jmndred  mothers 
of  families  lately"  in  comfortable  circumstances  knelt 
down  upon  the  stones  with  veiled  faces,  and  hands 
silently  held  out  for  charity.  The  people  rushed  in 
numbers  to  give  them  money ;  and  French  officers,  pale 
with  rage,  might  be  seen  giving  them  their  purses  en- 
tire, and  walking  away  to  curse  their  fate  as  abettors 
of  abominations.  In  one  house  9ii?ie  children  were 
awaiting  the  return  of  the  mother  Avith  the  fruits  of 
her  day's  begging ;  but  it  proved  that  she  was  in  prison 
for  what  was  naturally  looked  upon  as  a  public  demon- 
stration against  the  government.  All  the  documents 
of  these  Councils  of  Censure  had  been  carefully  de- 
stroyed throughout  the  Romagna,  so  that  none  of  their 
proceedings  were  found  in  the  archives,  and  all  that  the 
present  collection  of  documents  contains  is  the  judg- 
ments sent  from  Rome  in  confirmation  of  the  provincial 
recommendations.  From  these  w^e  shall  just  give  a 
few  specimens.  Men  are  sentenced :  "  For  Levity" — 
"  For  not  feeling  rightly  in  matters  of  politics" — "  For 
showing  himself  rather  excited" — "  For  having  the  ap- 
pearance of  one  rather  inclined  to  novelties" — "For 
being  imprudently  talkative" — "  Because,  when  he  was 
sent  to  Bologna  to  the  office  of  the  high  commissioner, 
he  gave  a  very  bad  outline  of  Monsignor  Bedini" — 
"  Because  he  read  the  papers  w^ith  a  high  voice,  making 
digressions  or  changing  his  tone  when  he  read  any 
thing  blackening  the  pontifical  government  and  the 
priests ;  and  he  ridiculed  Catholic  sovereigns,  and  espe- 


papaIj  goveenment  in  EOME.  377 

cially  King  Bomba — that  is,  the  King  of  Naples ;"  and 
the  last  we  shall  quote  is, "  Because  he  will  never  be 
good  stuff  to  cut  an  employe  out  of."* 

As  one  example  of  the  kind  of  punishment  sometimes 
administered,  we  may  quote  the  words  of  Cardinal  Ber- 
netti :  "  For  M.  and  R.  I  will  send  you  the  orders  of  re- 
moval to  remote  and  unhealthy  places,  giving  at  the 
same  time  the  names  of  those  who  shall  replace  them 
at  Rimini ;  and  I  shall  not  forget  the  name  of  the  well- 
deserving  P.  G.  on  the  same  occasion."f 

When  we  know  what  some  of  the  unhealthy  places 
in  the  Roman  States  are,  a  measure  of  this  kind  is  noth- 
ing more  than  a  quiet  way  of  condemning  men  to  die 
in  their  beds. 

In  the  matter  of  municipal  government,  provision  was 
made  for  giving  the  right  of  election  to  the  citizens. 
Municipal  bodies  were  forbidden  to  meet  or  discuss 
without  permission  of  the  governor  of  the  province. 
All  votes  were  null  until  approved,  and  all  appoint- 
ments to  office.  iN'o  correspondence  was  allowed  be- 
tween one  corporation  and  another,  l^o  address  to 
the  government.  To  the  corporations,  however,  was 
committed  the  care  of  public  education,  with  the  simple 
condition  that  they  should  be  entirely  governed  by  the 
bishop.  As  to  public  charities,  the  corporations  had 
every  thing  connected  with  them  in  charge  except  the 

*  "Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  597-GOO. 
t  Id,  ih.,  p.  592. 


378  ITALY   IN   TRANSITION. 

endowments.  Still  there  was  a  theory  of  election ;  and 
lists  of  persons  eligible,  and  of  the  electors,  were  com- 
piled in  1851;  only  it  was  ordered  that  they  should 
contain  the  names  of  none  but  persons  whose  conduct, 
both  political  and  religious,  was  ii'reprehensible.  From 
these  lists  the  Pope  chose ;  and  after  three  years  had 
passed,  they  were  to  be  drawn  up  anew;  but  just  be- 
fore the  time,  a  circular  arrived  from  the  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  who  thought  it  better  that  the  electors  should 
not  be  convoked,  but  that  the  new  corporations  should 
be  returned  by  those  now  existing.  At  the  end  of 
the  next  three  years,  when  the  time  for  re-election  ap- 
proached, another  circular  to  the  same  effect  was  is- 
sued ;  and  tlius,  says  the  editor  of  the  "  Official  Docu- 
ments," "  the  law  remams  an  insult,  a  printed  paper  to 
make  sport  of  the  Pope's  subjects,  but  useful  to  say  in 
diplomatic  circles,  'We  have  a  municipal  law  based 
upon  election.'  " 

From  the  same  hand  we  shall  quote  a  few  remarks 
on  the  question  of  finance.  "When  Galli  became  Minis- 
ter of  Finance,  he  thought  of  new  appliances  for  enrich- 
ing the  treasury.  He  had  three  millions  of  crowns 
coined  in  bronze,  the  nominal  value  of  which  was  out 
of  all  proportion  to  the  real.  lie  did  not  alter  the  Al- 
manac, but  simi-)ly  required  tliat  in  the  course  of  a  year, 
instead  of  twelve  monthly  payments  of  taxes  there 
should  be  fourteen.  Cardinal  Antonelli  issued  a  law 
to  punish  the  landowners  of  the  state  for  the  visitation 
by  which  the  vine  was  blighted,  by  simply  ordering 


PAPAL   GOVERNMENT  IN   EOME.  379 

them  to  pay  350,000  crowns  to  remunerate  the  govern- 
ment for  the  loss  of  its  tax,  just  as  if  in  Ireland  the  gov- 
ernment had  made  the  people  pay  in  extra  taxes  the 
value  of  all  that  was  lost  to  it  by  the  potato  famine. 
Here  are  the  words  of  the  decree  :  "  By  reason  of  ad- 
verse vicissitudes  experienced  by  our  vine  crops,  it  is 
difficult  to  derive  from  them  a  satisfactory  produce; 
and  therefore  the  collection  of  the  regular  taxes  is  de- 
ferred, and  for  it  is  substituted  an  impost  charged  upon 
the  townships  of  the  state,  amounting  to  the  annual 
sum  of  350,000  crowns,  to  begin  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1855,  and  to  be  distributed  among  the  respective  town- 
ships." 

This,  however,  was  only  for  the  secular  subjects  of 
the  Pope,  and  for  secular  property.  The  sacred  classes 
fared  better.  In  the  same  year,  1855,  Cardinal  Barbe- 
rini  declares  "  that  all  grapes,  corn,  and  other  produce, 
given  to  parish  priests  and  canons  as  tithes,  shall  be  ex- 
empt from  taxes,  to  preserve  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  the  Church."* 

All  this  time  the  Church  property  went  on  increas- 
ing, so  that  from  nothing  in  1814,  in  1835  it  had  reach- 
ed a  sum  of  between  six  and  seven  millions  of  money, 
and  now  is  above  thirty.  Here  we  shall  insert  the 
tale  of 

An  agreeable  Executorship. 
We  gave,  in  a  former  chapter,  one  story  of  a  Bonac- 
*  "Documents, "vol.  i.,  p.  377. 


380  ITALY   IN  TKANSITION. 

cioli  of  Ferrara,  and  here  we  give  another.  Professor 
Thomas  Bonaccioli,  on  the  death  of  his  insane  brother, 
Francis,  the  advocate,  expected  to  succeed  to  his  im- 
mense fortime  of  a  million  scudi,  which,  in  the  popular 
notion  of  Italians,  is  much  the  same  as  a  million  sterling 
with  us :  in  actual  value,  it  is  not  more  than  £220,000. 
But,  to  the  horror  of  the  old  man,  a  will  was  produced, 
dated  June  12th,  1854,  constituting  the  Archbishop  of 
Ferrara  sole  executor ;  but  who  was  the  favored  heir  ? 
The  Church  ?  Ko.  The  poor  ?  No.  "^he  friars  ? 
The  Pope  ?  The  Propaganda  ?  nuns  ?  convents  ?  or 
confraternities?  Not  any  of  these.  The  entire  for- 
tune of  Francis  Bonaccioli  was  bequeathed  to  his  oicn 
soul;  and  to  guard  the  interests  of  this  legatee,  as  has 
been  said,  the  sole  executor  was  the  Archbishop  of 
Ferrara  ! 

Few  men  in  the  States  of  the  Church  durst  enter  the 
Hsts  against  an  archbishop,  or  expose  in  court  the  arts 
that  turn  a  death  in  a  family  into  a  robbery  as  well  as 
a  bereavement.  But  Professor  Bonaccioli  was  old,  the 
prize  was  immense,  and  his  courage  was  uncommon. 
Into  court  he  went,  to  contest  the  will  on  five  grounds : 
1.  The  total  incapacity  of  the  deceased  to  devise;  2. 
Undue  influence;  3.  Violation  of  the  essential  forms  of 
a  will,  even  to  want  of  legal  execution ;  4.  Falsifica- 
tion ;  5.  Want  of  a  specific  and  tangible  person  or  ob- 
ject as  legatee. 

The  proofs  of  fraud  adduced  were  so  overwhelming 
that  pubUc  opinion  cried  aloud,  and  even  the  court  of 


PAPAIi  GOVERNMENT  IN  EOME.  381 

the  JRota  JRomayia  twice  gave  it  in  favor  of  the  plaintiff. 
It  would  have  done  so  a  third  time,  but  this  was  pre- 
vented by  changing  the  judges. 

It  became  known  that  the  plaintiff  had  new  and 
crushing  evidence  to  produce  against  the  archbishop  ; 
and  then  the  government  itself  resolved  to  stop  the 
course  of  a  man  who, "  with  a  courage  not  so  properly- 
called  rare,  as  positively  unique,  dared,  in  a  time  when 
no  one  else  would,  to  unmask  before  the  astonished 
world  the  infamous  practices  adopted  in  the  name  of 
the  Church;  the  atrocious  persecutions,  the  abuse  of 
excommunication,  the  solemn  perjuries,  the  bribery  of 
witnesses  and  penmen,  and  the  falsifications  in  hund- 
reds of  documents."  This  had  already  gone  too  far, 
and  it  must  cease;  but  attention  was  so  thoroughly 
awake,  that  it  could  not  be  terminated  by  violent 
means.  Professor  Bonaccioli  was  therefore  pressed  to 
come  to  Rome,  with  flattering  promises  that  the  Pope 
himself  would  become  arbitrator,  and  settle  the  matter 
by  an  equitable  compromise.  He  yielded ;  and  received 
the  Pope's  personal  assurance  that  he  would  arrange 
the  matter,  if  it  was  left  in  his  hands.  The  subject  com- 
mitted his  fortune  to  the  honor  of  the  sovereign. 

For  seven  months  he  was  kept  in  Rome,  while  "  the 
first  persons  in  the  state"  exhausted  all  their  efforts  to 
cajole,  menace,  and  deceive  him.  On  pretext  of  his 
holding  some  of  the  property,  legal  proceedings  were 
instituted  against  him.  "  A  chain  of  snares,  a  multitude 
of  stratagems  fit  to  turn  the  head  of  any  one,"  resulted 


382  ITALY   IN  TKANSITIOX. 

in  a  papal  rescript,  dated  September  4th,  1858,  by  which 
the  sovereign  who  had  made  himself  voluntary  arbitra- 
tor between  the  archbishop  and  the  lawful  heir,  award- 
ed to  the  latter  a  few  thousand  scudi,  scarcely  enough 
to  refund  the  expenses  of  his  four  years'  litigation. 

The  subject  at  once  presented  himself  before  the  sov- 
ereign, delivered  in  his  protest  and  appeal,  and  received 
a  promise  of  farther  compensation  after  a  time.  This 
promise  was  not  kept;  and  on  June  3d,  1859,  the  j^ro- 
fessor  once  more  presented  his  complaint. 

A  few  days  after  Ferrara  was  free.  The  new  gov- 
ernment appointed  a  board  for  the  administration  of 
charities.  The  Bonaccioli  estate  was  placed  in  its 
hands  ;  and  it  proved  that  the  archbishop  had,  natural- 
ly enough,  held  himself  to  be  "  plenipotentiary  repre- 
sentative of  the  soul,  and  free  disposer  of  the  estate, 
without  being  bound  to  account  to  any  one."  To  this 
board  the  plaintiff  in  the  long-pending  suit  appUed ; 
and  it  is  from  the  legal  document,  the  "bill"  put  into 
court,  that  this  narrative  is  taken.  Let  us  liope  that, 
ere  now,  the  property  has  returned  to  honest  hands.* 

One  of  the  great  arguments  for  the  suj^port  of  the 
temporal  power  of  the  Pope  is,  that  he  may  preserve 
his  independence.  In  what  did  this  consist  during  the 
ten  years  of  restoration  ?  These  volumes  run  over  with 
proof  that,  from  the  day  the  Austrians  entered  his  terri- 
tory until  the  day  they  left,  he  had  no  subjects,  if  that 
♦  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  488. 


PAPAL  GOVEENMENT  IN  EOME.         383 

word  means  persons  whose  obedience  a  prince  com- 
mands, either  from  loyalty  or  fear.  The  people  were 
entirely  under  the  power  of  foreign  authorities,  their 
native  government  having  scarcely  any  office  but  that 
of  collector  of  taxes,  imprisoner,  and  executioner. 

In  the  volumes  before  us,  the  index  of  documents 
showing  the  subjection  of  the  pontifical  government  to 
the  Austrians  takes  up  four  very  large  j)ages,  and  the 
contents  are  exceedingly  curious,  demonstrating  an  ab- 
dication of  the  chief  functions  of  government  in  favor 
of  a  foreign  power.  For  instance,  a  single  troop  of 
pontifical  soldiers  having  been  placed  in  Forli,  without 
express  sanction  from  the  Austrians,  the  General  Nobili 
severely  reproves  Monsignor  Bedini,  whose  patience 
hardly  bears  it ;  and  he  replies,  that  probably  the  Min- 
ister of  "War  (Antonelli)  will  be  surprised,  as  it  was 
done  in  simple  fulfillment  of  his  orders ;  at  the  same 
time  he  shows  his  servility  by  thanking  the  general  for 
the  courtesy  of  his  note.  Cardinal  Antonelli  rej^lies  to 
Bedini  that  "  the  facts  represented  to  him  are  much  to 
be  lamented,"  and  feels  keenly  how  far  all  this  dis- 
credits the  Pope's  authority,  and  gives  advantage  to 
his  enemies.  But,  he  says,  "  In  the  present  circum- 
stances there  is  no  other  means  of  carrying  on  afiairs ; 
for,  although  the  sovereign  is  in  the  country,  the  mili- 
tary force  is  a  foreign  one,"  and  therefore  he  can  only 
instruct  Bedini  "  to  do  every  thing  in  concert  with  the 
Austrian  military  authorities,"  which  means  that  he  do 
nothing  without  their  leave.* 

*  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  Ixxii. 


384  ITALY   IN  TRAKSITION. 

It  soon  proved  that  the  Austrian  generals  were  not 
content  with  the  substance  of  power,  but  assumed  what 
was  more  grating  to  their  ecclesiastical  coadjutors,  its 
forms  and  titles.  "  General  Gortzkowski,"  writes  the 
unhappy  Bedini,  "  besides  his  title  of  commandant,  as- 
sumes that  of  civil  and  military  governor.  I  thought 
the  time  had  come  to  omit  this  in  official  correspond- 
ence, and  therefore  for  some  weeks  have  not  used  it. 
But  very  soon  Count  Nobili  reclaimed,  and  laid  orders 
upon  me  to  repair  this  irregularity."* 

An  officer  in  the  pontifical  army  is  imprisoned  by  the 
Austrians,  and  after  some  time  set  at  hberty ;  and  here 
are  the  documents  in  which  his  superiors  write  to  one 
another,  to  ask  what  could  be  the  cause  of  his  arrest,  it 
being  evident  that  the  "  civil  and  miUtary  governors" 
had  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  give  them  any  in- 
formation on  the  subject.  The  Bishop  of  Cesena,  hav- 
ing had  his  house  broken  into  and  robbed,  applies  to 
the  Austrians  for  a  guard,  but  is  summarily  told  that  he 
can  have  none.  In  the  city  of  Forli  a  military  courier 
was  robbed ;  the  Austrians  at  once  laid  upon  the  town 
a  mulct  of  3000  crowns,  and  the  pontifical  government 
stands  by. 

They  even  went  so  far  as  to  find  fault  with  the  Coun- 
cil of  Censure  itself;  and  it  would  seem  that  it  objected 
to  be  interfered  with ;  for  General  Gravert  replies  to 
the  legate  that  his  right  to  demand  from  the  Council 
of  Censure  a  report  as  to  any  journals  distributed  in 
*  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  272. 


PAPAL  GOVEENMENT  IN  EOME.         385 

the  legations  rests  upon  the  instructions  of  the  26th  of 
May,  1849.  We  shall  now  give  the  exact  words  of  a 
pontifical  legate.  The  Austrian  authority  "avails  it- 
self of  its  attribute  of  civil  government  to  commit  acts 
which  are  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  pontifical  au- 
thority, and  which  bring  shame  and  humiliation  upon 
it." 

On  their  side,  an  Austrian  says,  "  In  my  position  of 
civil  and  military  governor,  I  can  not  forego  any  ar- 
rangement which  I  consider  necessary  as  a  measure  of 
police,  in  spite  of  the  prohibition  of  the  minister  at 
Rome,  to  whom  I  am  not  responsible."*  This  referred 
to  a  point  upon  which  the  pontifical  authorities  were 
very  tender,  as  directly  affecting  the  observances  of  the 
Church.  They  had  ordered  that  the  theatre  at  Bo- 
logna, as  all  in  the  pontifical  states,  should  be  closed 
during  Lent ;  but  the  general  wanted  his  soldiers  to  be 
amused,  and  flies  in  the  face  not  only  of  the  legate  him- 
self, but  of  the  government  of  Rome. 

Again  we  have  these  words :  "  Your  most  reverend 
excellency  will  not  fail  to  see  in  the  action  of  the  im- 
perial and  royal  commander  a  decided  arrogation  of 
political  power :  now  it  is  no  longer  a  request,  but  a 
decree,  and  a  decree  that  becomes  so  much  more  hurt- 
ful to  the  representatives  of  the  pontifical  authority,  as 
it  discredits  us  in  the  eyes  of  the  people."  All  that 
poor  Antonelli  can  reply  to  these  complaints  is,  that  he 
"  reserves  to  himself  the  right  to  look  into  the  matter." 
*  "Documents;"  vol.  i.,  p.  476. 
R 


386  ITALY  IN  TEAN^ITION. 

Finally,  upon  a  simple  rumor  that  the  National  Guard 
still  exist  in  the  city  of  Cesena,  the  Austrians  quarter  a 
division  of  soldiers  upon  the  town,  and  force  them  to 
support  it  by  payment  of  money,  and  arrest  the  gov- 
ernor.* 

These  facts  are  but  samples  of  multitudes  which  teem 
all  through  these  volumes,  showing  that  every  vestige 
or  independence  had  been  given  up,  and  that  nothing 
remained  but  the  pontifical  arms  displayed  over  public 
ofiices,  the  right  of  levying  taxes,  and  administering  the 
penal  law. 

But  it  might  be  supposed  that  at  least  full  independ- 
ence in  spiritual  matters  was  obtained  at  the  great 
price  of  this  humiliation  in  temporal  ones.  Even  that, 
however,  was  not  the  case.  When  the  legate,  wearied 
to  death  with  the  outcries  of  the  people,  complained  to 
the  Austrians  that  the  farmers,  not  being  allowed  to 
keep  arms,  w^ere  continually  subject  to  pillage  and  ruin, 
the  reply  of  the  general  was  characteristic :  ''  The  most 
eminent  Cardinal  of  Imola  wishes  to  attribute  the  rob- 
beries to  the  most  salutary  measure  of  general  disarm- 
ing, but  does  not  reflect  on  the  very  grave  res^jousibili- 
ty  that  weighs  on  his  clergy  for  the  neglect  of  moral 
and  religious  education  in  a  generation  that  contains  so 
many  germs  of  corruption  and  of  crime."  This  coarse 
rebuke  was  dated  the  14th  of  August,  1849;  and  only 
three  years  before,  as  the  general  must  have  known 
very  well,  the  most  eminent  Cardinal  of  Imola  was  not 
*  "Documents,"  voL  i.,  p.  257. 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  HOME.         387 

the  dignitary  he  thus  scolded,  but  no  other  person  than 
Pio  Nono  himself,  who  had  long  been  in  charge  of  that 
diocese,  and  upon  whom,  if  on  any  one,  must  rest  the 
blame  of  having  brought  up  the  people  in  the  state  of 
corruption  of  which  the  general  complains.* 

But  not  only  were  the  high  clerical  powers  exposed 
to  these  rebuffs,  they  were  obliged  to  sell  for  bayonets 
many  of  their  most  cherished  spiritual  rights.  The  im- 
munity of  the  priests  from  civil  and  military  courts  is 
one  of  the  first  of  all  the  privileges  of  Rome  held  with 
mortal  tenacity.  This  was  surrendered;  and  Hugo 
Bassi,  a  liberal  priest,  was  shot  by  the  Austrians  imme- 
diately upon  his  arrest.  When  the  Archbishop  of  Bo- 
logna was  about  to  issue  his  Pastoral — as  archbishops 
are  fond  of  doing — the  Austrian  general  declared  that 
no  prelates  could  print  holy  counsels,  pastorals,  or  any 
thing  else,  without  the  %>laGet  of  their  imperial  j^rotect- 
ors.  And  then,  what  we  should  have  thought  utterly 
unendurable  by  Roman  ecclesiastics,  it  is  decreed  that 
no  religious  procession  shall  be  allowed  until  authority 
has  first  been  obtained  from  the  Austrian  police.  Any 
one  who  refers  to  vol.  i.,  p.  780,  will  find  these  incredible 
facts  confirmed. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  in  this  state  of  things 
the  dignitaries  of  the  Church  were  content  and  patient. 
They  reclaim  with  bitterness  against  what  they  call 
"the  more  than  despotic"  interference  of  the  Austrians; 
but  it  is  to  be  said,  with  sorrow  for  human  nature,  that 
*  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  Ixxxi. 


388  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION. 

all  their  indignation  is  against  acts  impairing  their  own 
dignity  and  authority.  No  sign  of  protests  as  to  the 
barbarities  inflicted  upon  their  people ;  on  the  contrary, 
whatever  is  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  torture  or  judicial 
murder,  they  seem  always  too  ready  to  be  servants  and 
helpers.  In  fact,  it  is  the  Austrians  who,  in  not  a  few 
cases,  interfere  to  moderate  the  proceedings  of  the 
priests.  The  case  of  the  wife  of  Garibaldi,  already 
given,  is  one  in  point.  The  Governor  of  S.  Arcangelo 
had  arrested  a  certain  Francis  Yenturi,  and  endeavored 
to  prove  him  guilty,  and  handed  him  over  to  the  Aus- 
trian court-martial ;  but  "  this  imperial  and  royal  gov- 
ernment, civil  and  miUtary,  orders  that  he  shall  be  set 
at  liberty  instantly."  In  the  town  of  Jesi,  the  people 
wished  to  celebrate  a  solemn  mass  for  the  souls  of  those 
who  had  fallen  fighting  for  their  country  at  Vicenza. 
The  papal  government  took  th;s  as  a  crime  against  the 
state.  Many  were  punished  with  the  "  cudgel,"  not  a 
few  with  fines.  Among  the  rest,  three  were  prosecuted 
who  had  not  even  been  in  the  town  on  that  day.  The 
Austrian  commandant  wrote  a  letter  rebuking  the  gov- 
ernment, and  ordered  that  the  fines  collected  should  be 
restored.* 

General  Marziani  found  in  the  fort  of  Urbino  some 
prisoners,  who  were  reported  as  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  civil  and  military  government,  while  the  fact  was 
that  they  had  been  committed  for  ofienses  long  past. 
He  refused  to  prosecute  them ;  and  he  adds,  that  "  per- 
*  "Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  GIO,  Gil. 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  EOME.         389 

sons  arrested  for  precaution  ought  not  to  be  kept  in 
prison  forever." 

There  was  a  certain  Louis  Gardella,  regarding  whom 
one  of  these  documents  says,  very  coolly,  that  the  Aus- 
trians,  by  violence,  and  by  threatening  him  with  death, 
had  wrung  from  him  a  promise  to  inform,  within  a 
month,  against  his  brother-in-law,  where  they  were  and 
what  they  were  doing;  that  he  had  applied  to  them 
(the  papal  delegates)  to  be  released  from  this  "  cruel 
engagement"  on  the  3d  of  August,  1850;  but  as  they 
had  taken  the  necessary  measures  with  the  Austrian 
commandant,  they  had  immediately  proceeded  to  arrest 
him.* 

So  far  did  it  go  that  the  papal  government  could  not 
deliver  passports  to  its  own  subjects — a  favor,  by  the 
way,  they  were  very  slow  to  accord — without  having 
them  signed  by  the  Austrian  police,  and  without  the 
applicant  being  obliged  to  present  himself  personally  at 
their  office  for  that  purpose. 

What  w^as  perhaps  the  worst  of  all  was,  that  when 
the  legate  issued  his  proclamation  regulating  the  diver- 
sions of  the  Carnival,  he  had  a  sharp  letter  from  the 
Austrian  general,  telling  him  that  though  nothing  par- 
ticular in  this  document  could  be  objected  to,  he  ought 
not  to  have  issued  any  such  thing  w^ithout  consulting 
him.  Smarting  imder  this,  he  is  reduced  to  complain 
that  the  theatre  is  kept  open  even  in  Holy  Week  with- 
out as  much  as  asking  his  leave,  although  he  had  fonn- 
*  "Documents,"  vol. ii.,  p.  590. 


390  ITALY   IN  TRAIfSITION. 

ally  commanded  that  it  should  be  closed  all  through 
Lent. 

At  present  his  Holiness  is  making  efforts  to  procure 
soldiers  from  different  parts  of  the  world.  The  editor's 
index  of  the  complaints  in  these  books  by  different  leg- 
ates, delegates,  governors,  and  so  on,  of  the  animosity 
of  the  people  to  the  government,  and  the  impossibihty 
of  getting  them  to  serve  it  in  any  capacity,  occupies 
about  three  pages.  One  high  official  even  declares 
that,  not  from  love  of  the  Austrians,  but  simply  from 
hatred  of  the  papal  power,  the  people  would  sooner 
choose  to  be  under  Austria  itself  than  under  the  rule  of 
the  priests.  Another  says  that  the  soldiers  are  not  to 
be  trusted.  Another  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
whole  of  the  present  generation  is  hopelessly  lost ;  and 
yet  another  does  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  even  of 
the  governors  themselves  he  has  any  thing  but  a  good 
opinion.  And  most  sorrowful  of  all.  Colonel  Freddi 
begins  at  last  to  have  doubts  of  the  Austrians,  for  in 
the  pubUc  houses  of  Ancona  they  may  be  heard  singing 
Liberal  songs.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  most 
reverend  Minister  of  "War  has  very  great  difficulty  in 
getting  soldiers ;  in  fact,  he  is  told  plainly  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  any  papal  force  to  be  depended  upon. 
Although  in  Forli  a  depot  of  enlistment  is  opened,  with 
high  inducements  of  pay,  diet,  and  bounty,  only  two  en- 
roll themselves.  Antonelli  is  willing  to  have  soldiers 
even  as  old  as  thirty-six  years  of  age.  Ho  makes  sev- 
eral provisions  for  rendering  enlistment  easier,  and  con- 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  KOME.         391 

eludes  thus :  "  Finally,  as  to  moral  character,  I  need  not 
add  that  in  no  case  can  a  certificate  of  unexceptionable 
political  conduct  be  dispensed  with ;  but  as  to  criminal 
conduct,  it  will  be  enough  if  he  has  not  been  a  galley- 
slave,  or  undergone  similar  disgraceful  sentences." 

This  being  the  state  of  the  soldier  market  among  the 
Pope's  own  subjects,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he 
should  look  for  them  elsewhere,  knowing  that  far  away 
"  Catholic"  affection  is  considerably  warmer  than  near- 
er home ;  for  while  in  Cesena  the  corporation  refuse  to 
celebrate  the  anniversary  of  his  coronation,  in  Ireland 
his  health  is  sometimes  drunk  before  that  of  the  queen. 

The  sort  of  reasoning  with  which  the  Jesuits  satisfy 
their  tender  consciences  that  it  is  lawful  for  the  "  Chief 
Shepherd"  to  bring  armed  bands  from  any  remote  coun- 
try whence  he  can  allure  them,  to  plunge  bayonets  or 
shoot  bullets  into  his  near  neighbors,  may  be  judged  by 
the  opening  of  an  article  in  a  late  number  of  the  "  Civil- 
ta  Cattolica:'^'' 

"If,  then,"  says  the  reverend  writer,  "the  pontiff  may 
not  dfefend  his  temporal  power  with  spiritual  arms,  as 
those  worthies  would  have  it,  to  whom  we  replied  in 
the  first  article  of  our  last  number,  can  he  at  least  de- 
fend it  with  temporal  arms  ?  In  this  case  the  means 
will  be  harmonious,  and  would  resemble  that  which  is 
done  by  all  the  powers  in  the  world,  and,  indeed,  by  all 
living  creatures,  which,  when  assailed,  defend  themselves 
as  they  are  able  by  the  imperious  instinct  of  self-preser- 
vation.    But  'No,'  reply  those  wiseacres.     'What  do 


392  ITALY    IN   TRANSITION. 

you  think — does  it  not  ill  become  the  vicar  of  the  God 
of  love  to  use  earthly  arms  ?  For  him  to  lift  up  the 
hand  ought  to  be  for  the  single  purpose  of  blessing  and 
of  pardoning ;  and  then  if  the  civil  sovereignty  of  the 
Pope  is  appointed  for  a  spiritual  end,  as  its  defenders 
say,  what  inconsistency  can  be  greater  than  this,  to  use 
material  arms  for  an  end  which  transcends  all  the  limits 
and  all  the  conditions  of  matter?'  And  thus  we  tum- 
ble headlong  into  that  sophism,  which  Avould  be  so  con- 
venient for  the  invaders  and  usurpers  of  part  of  the 
States  of  the  Church,  which  part  they  would  hope  is  an 
earnest  of  the  rest.  The  sophism  is  this — that  the  pon- 
tiff can  not  use  either  spiritual  arms  or  temporal  ones 
to  preserve  for  the  Church  its  patrimony — neither  canon 
law  nor  cannon  shot  {iie  canojii  ne  canno9ii).  It  there- 
fore must  be  resigned  without  the  shadow  of  an  obsta- 
cle to  the  first  Count  Camillo  (Cavour)  who,  by  dint  of 
foxy  cunning  and  shameless  effrontery,  sui^ported  by 
despotic  foreign  abettors,  will  take  in  hand  to  grasp  it. 
But  they  count  without  their  host.  The  Catholic  world 
was  never  less  disposed  than  at  this  moment  to  be 
caught  by  such  fibs.  So  far  from  it  being  the  case,  that 
neither  spiritual  nor  temporal  arms  can  be  used  for  de- 
fending the  patrimony  of  the  Church,  it  is  precisely  the 
reverse ;  for  both  one  and  the  other  very  well  can,  and 
in  certain  circumstances  ought  to  be  employed." 

This  amiable  article  is  entitled  "  Temporal  Arms  for 
the  Defense  of  the  Spiritual  Power,"  and  was  published 
on  the  19th  of  May,  in  this  present  year,  in  the  pontifical 
city. 


PAPAL   GOVEENMENT   m   ROME.  393 

As  a  final  proof  of  the  level  to  which  the  Pope  stoop- 
ed, he  had  no  power  to  refuse,  when  it  was  demanded 
for  his  beloved  Austrians,  an  indulgence  against  which 
the  government  whereof  he  claims  to  be  the  alter  Ego 
has  inscribed  in  the  great  book  of  its  working  laws  a 
dolorous  penalty,  too  well  known  in  the  hospitals  of  Eu- 
rope. The  Pope,  with  paternal  care,  undertakes  to  aid 
the  Austrians  in  evading  that  penalty,  and  the  corpora- 
tion of  Bologna  was  ordered  to  defray  the  expense  of 
securing  medical  skill  for  that  end.  They  refused  to 
do  so.  The  government  insisted ;  the  corporation  was 
sturdy ;  and  a  long  correspondence  was  closed  by  the 
following  document,  which  we  shall  give  with  all  its 
marks,  from  page  487  of  the  first  volume: 

"3.788.  N.  49.664. 

"Most  illtjsteious  and  most  eeveeend  Sie, — 

"  The  Holiness  of  our  Lord  has  graciously  deigned 
to  appoint  Doctor  Peter  Zuola  as  first  fiscal  surgeon  of 
Bologna,  with  a  monthly  pay  of  fifteen  crowns ;  and,  as 
his  substitute.  Doctor  Julius  Borzaghi,  with  the  pay  of 
twelve  crowns,  on  condition  that  both  one  and  the  oth- 
er shall  gratuitously  attend  to  the  cure  of  women  of  bad 
life ;  the  extra  allowance  which  they  have  hitherto  had 
for  that  purpose  ceasing. 

"  I  communicate  to  you,  most  illustrious  sir,  this  gra- 
cious act  of  the  sovereign  will  for  your  guidance,  and 
send  you  the  ofiicial  note  of  nomination,  that  you  may 
promptly  have  it  delivered. 
R2 


394  ITALY  IN  TRANSITION. 

"  And  I  beg  to  subscribe  myself,  with  sincere  esteem 
of  your  most  illustrious  and  most  reverend  lordshij),  the 
devoted  servant, 

"Maetel,  Minister  of  the  Interior. 

"  Rome,  April  22d,  1857." 

Directed  to  "  Monsignor  the  ApostoHc  Commissioner 
of  Bologna." 

The  words  "  holy,"  "  sacred,"  and  "  holiness"  are  sad- 
ly dragged  through  the  mire  at  Rome ;  and  who  will 
fail  to  reflect  on  the  easy  and  unembarrassed  manner  in 
which  the  "  Holiness  of  our  Lord"  is  coupled  with'  an 
efibrt  to  enable  sinners  to  sin  on  with  impunity  ? 

We  have  given  enough  under  this  head  to  show  tliat, 
whatever  advantages  the  Poj^e  may  have  derived  from 
his  kingly  position  during  the  last  ten  years,  indepen- 
dence in  temporal,  spiritual,  or  moral  questions  was  not 
one  of  them. 

In  the  second  volume  are  the  following  lists : 

Those  condemned  to  death  and  the  galleys,  23  pages. 

PoUtical  exiles,  emigrants,  and  recusants,  12  pages. 

Persons  shot  in  the  city  of  Bologna,  G  pages,  186 
names. 

Persons  sentenced  in  Bologna  to  be  shot,  but  exe- 
cuted elsewhere,  3  pages,  90  names. 

Pohce  notes  on  persons  suspected  and  pohtically  com- 
promised in  Ferrara,  30  pages,  534  names. 

Persons  condemned  to  death  and  the  galleys,  as  re- 
corded by  political  prisoners  from  memory,  in  the  for- 


PAPAL   GOVERNMENT  m  EOME.  395 

tress  of  Paliono,  for  Caesar  Mazzoni,  written  by  him  on 
fragments  of  paper  in  microscopic  characters,  40  pages, 
nearly  3000  names. 

Members  of  the  Constituent  Assembly  exiled,  3  pages. 

Persons  sent  out  of  the  state,  and  not  permitted  to 
return  without  previous  leave  of  the  police,  5  pages. 

The  effect  of  this  system  of  government  upon  the 
minds  of  the  people  is  stated  in  addresses*  which  were 
presented  to  the  Pope  himself  when,  in  the  year  1857, 
he  made  the  celebrated  "  progress"  through  his  states, 
which,  at  the  time,  the  "  Journal  of  Rome"  paraded  be- 
fore the  world  as  one  continual  ovation,  proving  the 
love  and  honor  with  which  the  pontiff  was  regarded  by 
his  subjects.  In  July  of  that  year  the  corporation  of 
Ravenna  represented  matters  as  follows : 

"Most  blessed  Fathee, 
"  YouE  august  presence  in  any  province  of  the  state 
must  raise  in  the  soul  of  your  subjects  the  most  flatter- 
ing hopes.  If  they  had  easy  access  to  your  august  pres- 
ence, or  if,  at  least,  they  were  certain  that  their  petitions 
would  not  be  concealed  by  those  who  surround  you, 
you  would  be  made  clearly  to  see  the  grave  wants  that 
press  upon  them,  and  the  radical  improvements  which 
they  permit  themselves  to  anticipate  from  the  justice  of 
the  prince  and  the  charity  of  the  high-priest.  Laws, 
finances,  taxes,  municij^al  affairs,  public  institutions — all, 
all,  demand  enfranchisement,  regulation,  reform.  Oh, 
do  not  be  deluded  by  ephemeral  pomps — artificial  flat- 


39G  ITALY    IN   TKANSITION. 

teries — forced,  or  rather  extorted,  by  the  blood  of  the 
poor,  and  always  connected  with  self-interested  designs 
of  the  dishonest,  and  the  adulation  of  courtiers !  Those 
are  not  your  people,  who  are  anxious  to  twine  for  you 
a  crown  worthy  of  the  first  days  of  your  pontificate. 
Wearing  it,  you  will  return  to  Rome  with  the  pride  and 
glory  of  having  restored  to  the  papacy  a  degree  of  pow- 
er and  veneration  which  is  the  wish  of  your  admirers, 
and  also  that  of  universal  Christendom ;  and  without  it, 
what  will  become  of  your  people,  and  what  will  become 
of  you  in  the  face  of  the  human  race,  and  of  history  ?" 

It  is  seldom  a  prince  hears  such  language  from  a  cor- 
poration ;  but  what  can  we  say  of  the  following  ? 

"Address  feom  the  People  op  the  Romagna  de- 
livered TO  THE  Pope  on  the  2d  op  July,  1857. 

"  Your  journey  in  the  midst  of  your  people  ought  to 
procure  you  that  felicity  which  a  good  father  feels  when 
entertained  by  his  own  children.  Around  you  all  is  fes- 
tive, all  is  joy.  But  if  the  corporations  did  not  cover 
our  wounds,  our  miseries,  under  draperies  and  gold ;  if 
with  the  sound  of  the  church  bells  and  the  roar  of  can- 
non they  did  not  prevent  you  from  hearing  our  lament- 
ations ;  if  they  had  enough  civil  courage  to  tell  you  our 
necessities,  our  misfortunes,  and  to  let  you  know  what 
havoc  of  the  persons  and  property  of  your  subjects  is 
committed  in  the  provinces,  the  tears  which  you  now 
shed  from  joy  would  change  into  a  gush  of  sorrow  and 


PAPAL  GOVEENMENT  IN   E03IE.  397 

compassion.  The  first  days  of  your  pontificate  opened 
every  generous  heart  to  hope.  All  Europe  applauded 
your  first  acts.  The  world  itself  admired  you.  It  seem- 
ed, for  a  moment,  that  the  cross  of  the  old  pontifis  was 
"■ii'ted  up  by  you  once  more  to  defend  the  people  against 
the  abuses  and  tyranny  of  secular  princes.  In  that  junc- 
ture you  were  sublime.  But  it  was  a  short  instant ;  and 
from  the  height  in  which  genius  soars  you  soon  descend- 
ed to  the  level  of  mediocrity.  Alarmed  by  the  pros- 
pect of  too  grand  a  future,  after  having  initiated  your 
people  in  a  better  way,  you  have  endeavored  to  lead 
them  back  to  the  old  usages,  and  to  re-establish  a  state 
of  oppression,  called,  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  govern- 
ment, '  order.'  Whether  your  conduct  can  be  justified 
by  too  rapid  a  movement  of  the  people  to  realize  certain 
ideas,  future  history  will  decide.  For  us,  it  is  enough 
to  note  the  fact  that  '  order'  was  restored.  The  state 
of  things  that  has  followed  it  is  certainly  unknown  to 
you,  and  we  wish  to  place  it  under  your  eyes,  and  that 
uuiy  tu  make  yon  understand  that  you  deceive  yourself 
in  imagining  your  people  to  be  ^appy  with  the  present 
political  and  financial  administration. 

"Holy  Father,  in  the  year  1850,  after  some  months — 
— for  you  of  trial — you  accomplished  your  return  to 
Rome,  and  re-established  your  government,  with  all  its 
forms,  because  you  had  been  preceded  by  the  French, 
Austrian,  and  Spanish  armies,  which  had  been  obliged 
to  give  proof  of  their  prowess.  Your  desire,  your  pride 
was  gratified ;  but  how  many  misfortunes  rained  down 


398  ITALT   IN   TRA.NSITION. 

upon  your  people  on  the  arrival  of  these  foreign  forces ! 
How  many  horrors  !  Perhaps  all  were  committed 
without  your  knowledge;  but  all  in  your  name,  holy 
father ! 

"  Martial  law  was  declared  in  all  our  cities,  and  shoot- 
ing, and  beating  with  the  stick,  without  distinction  of 
age,  became  the  order  of  the  day.  Informers  for  gain, 
and  informers  from  party  spirit,  rose  up  every  where, 
and  every  where  victims  fell.  The  '  cudgel'  became  a 
remedy  for  all  evils.  Confessions  were  wrung,  by  dint 
of  blows,  equally  from  the  alleged  political  offender,  the 
assassin,  and  the  thief;  and  the  innocent  were  some- 
times obliged  to  bear  the  penalty  of  the  guilty,  when 
they  had  escaped  by  flight.  Commissions,  formed  of 
men  not  the  most  respectable  in  society,  filled  the  pris- 
ons with  youth ;  and  using  the  vilest  means,  they  sought 
in  the  proceedings,  not  truth,  but,  by  the  most  refined 
persecutions,  to  give  formal  proof  of  their  attachment 
to  the  government,  whence  they  might  derive  a  title  to 
lucrative  promotion.  Anonymous  information  against 
a  simple  citizen  was  suflieient  to  throw  him  into  the 
depths  of  a  prison.  The  witnesses,  always  threatened 
with  the  galleys  and  with  the  beastly  cudgel,  most  fre- 
quently deposed  to  things  that  in  their  consciences  they 
regarded  as  calumnies,  and  for  which  they  wept  in  se- 
cret. It  appeared  that  the  object  was  not  to  discover 
criminals,  but  rather  to  satiate  the  thirst  of  a  party  for 
blood.    All  this  in  your  name,  holy  father  ! 

"  Then  came  the  sentences  of  tho  (High  Court  of) 


PAPAL  GOVERNMENT  IN  EOME.         399 

Consulta^  dictated  so  much  by  caprice  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  say  which  was  most  evident,  ignorance  of 
facts  or  cruelty.  And  it  is  a  grievous  thing  to  hear 
that  a  body  of  judges,  a  moral  corps,  the  motto  of  which 
ought  to  be  '  impartiality,'  condemns  to  the  galleys  and 
to  death  with  a  levity  that  appalls ;  for,  generally  speak- 
ing, no  proof  of  guilt  is  manifest  in  their  sentences,  by 
which  there  is  not  a  city  that  has  not  had  torn  from  it 
some  precious  citizen ;  and,  not  to  speak  of  all,  Sene- 
gaglia,  your  own  dear  native  town,  still  shudders  when 
it  calls  to  mind  the  guilty  shooting  of  her  most  innocent 
and  most  virtuous  Jerome  SimonelU;  and  all  this  in 
your  name,  holy  father ! 

"  Further,  the  disarming  of  all  the  citizens,  even  in 
the  rural  districts,  was  the  natural  consequence  of  mar- 
tial law,  through  which  every  one  hastened  to  surrender 
his  defensive  arms  at  the  different  offices  of  police,  to 
avoid  being  sent  to  the  galleys,  or  being  shot,  as  hap- 
pened to  those  unhappy  persons  who  showed  reluctance 
to  obey  the  supreme  command.  All,  both  in  town  and 
country,  being  disarmed,  the  field  was  clear  for  robbers 
and  assassins  to  haunt  the  highways  with  impunity,  and 
without  the  least  risk  of  being  disturbed.  This  part  of 
Italy,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  world,  affords  the  mis- 
erable sight  of  organized  bands  of  brigands,  who  took 
possession  of  cities  and  villages,  and  who  insulted  in  ev- 
ery way  the  citizens,  and  even  laid  enormous  contribu- 
tions upon  conquered  towns.  The  striking  point  is, 
that  all  this  took  place  in  a  state  of  only  three  millions 


400  ITALY  IN  tea:n^sition, 

of  people,  where  the  armies  of  the  two  most  formidable 
natious  in  the  world  were  quartered  for  the  establish- 
ment of  order  and  general  tranquiUity.  But  probably 
you  were  told  that  ^  these  crimes  were  nothing  more 
that  a  little  pocket-picking.  What  farther  shall  we  say 
of  the  ordinary  civil  and  military  courts,  grown  more 
immoral  than  usual  through  the  misery  of  the  times  ? 
In  these  the  poor,  without  patronage,  always  fall  by 
the  force  of  gold,  if  opposed  by  the  rich.  In  these  the 
barbarous  inquisitorial  proceedings,  often  united  to  ig- 
norance, and  sometimes  to  corruption  of  the  functiona- 
ries, leave  miserable  creatures  to  waste  for  an  indefinite 
time  in  unhealthy  prisons  before  they  can  see  their 
lot  decided.  For  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  shall  not 
enumerate  all  the  abuses,  all  the  wrongs,  to  which  are 
abandoned  the  people  of  the  little  villages  left  at  the 
discretion  of  some  incapable  governor,  or  of  an  ofiicer 
of  police,  who  bears  himself  as  a  general ;  and  all  these 
abominations  you  are  ignorant  of! 

"  But  do  not  imagine,  holy  father,  that  the  series  of 
miseries  which  afflicts  your  subjects  ends  here.  Add  to 
all  that  has  been  said,  as  its  conclusion,  the  immense 
financial  deficit,  the  exorbitant  taxes  of  every  kind  that 
are  paid  for  the  support  of  foreign  troops  and  for  the 
boundless  luxury  of  the  court  of  Rome  and  her  treas- 
ury. This  ill-regulated  outlay  has  so  wasted  the  small 
means  of  the  greater  number  of  the  citizens,  that  noth- 
ing remains  to  them  but  a  future  of  distressing  poverty. 
The  revenues  raised  are  certainly  not  according  to  the 


PAPAL  GOVEENMENT  IN  KOME.         401 

wants  of  the  state,  but  according  to  the  extravagance 
of  a  very  bad  administration. 

"And  it  is  truly  extravagance  to  maintain,  in  a  state 
of  three  millions,  French,  Austrian,  Spanish,  and  papal 
armies ;  nor  can  it  be  believed  that  the  preservation  of 
order  in  so  small  a  state  should  require  such  an  array 
of  force,  for  then  it  would  be  confessed  that  the  gov- 
ernment had  so  fallen  into  contempt  by  its  continual 
despotism  that  it  could  not  possibly  exist  without  a 
pedestal  of  bayonets.  Woe  to  that  government  which 
does  not  maintain  itself  by  influence  and  persuasion, 
but  rests  only  upon  force,  in  days  when  civilization  has 
decreed  that  at  any  cost  the  right  of  the  strong  shall  no 
longer  prevail  against  reason!  After  all  that  has  been 
laid  before  you,  think  within  yourself,  oh  holy  father,  if 
a  sovereign,  passing  through  his  states  where  so  many 
wrongs  take  place,  where  thousands  and  thousands  of 
mothers  are  weeping  for  their  sons  in  exile,  in  dungeons, 
or  dead  by  the  hands  of  the  executioner — think  within 
yourself  if  he  can  be  well  received,  and  if  the  demon- 
strations which  have  the  appearance  of  festivity  are  not 
rather  the  eifect  of  fear.  Do  not  delude  yourself,  oh 
holy  father ;  and  reflect  that  if  it  ill  becomes  a  secular 
prince  to  have  a  realm  in  which  the  subjects  are  gov- 
erned like  beasts  of  burden,  in  which  the  caj^rice  and 
will  of  man  are  always  substituted  for  law  and  reason, 
much  worse  is  it  if  this  prince  is  the  successor  of  Peter, 
the  head  of  that  religion  which  has  for  motto  '  Equality, 
love  and  pardon.'    Keflect,  and  set  matters  right." 


402  ITALY   IN  TRANSITION". 

After  the  general  corruption  of  Christianity  East  and 
West  by  the  adoption  of  heathen  or  semi-heathen  prac- 
tices from  the  imperfectly  Christianized  multitudes  who 
had  flocked  into  the  ranks  of  the  Church  subsequent  to 
her  public  triumph  in  the  empire,  two  powers  arose  to 
dominate  over  the  enfeebled  Christians.  The  one  re- 
tained the  Christian  doctrines,  adhered  to  the  corrupt 
practices,  claimed  chiefly  spiritual  domination,  and, 
throwing  the  Christian  Scriptures  into  the  shade,  adopt- 
ed a  system  of  impressing  the  senses,  holding  the  con- 
science by  priestly  power,  and  gradually  supplanting 
and  overlaying  the  old  truths  by  adding  new  doctrines. 
The  other  restored,  as  against  both  pagan  and  Christian 
idolatry,  many  of  the  primitive  forms  of  Christianity ; 
rejected  its  cardinal  doctrines ;  without  disowning,  sup- 
planted its  Scriptures ;  based  its  rehgious  hold  on  a 
Book  and  on  the  intellect,  aided  by  passion ;  and  aimed 
at  temporal  dominion.  Both  used  the  sword ;  they 
flourished  around  the  Mediterranean,  dividing  its  shores 
between  them,  and  thence  extending  the  one  "West,  the 
other  East.  Each  took,  as  its  chief  seat,  one  of  the 
capitals  of  the  Roman  empire.  Both  prepared  the  way 
for  their  social  ruin  by  undermining  the  Christian  fami- 
ly institute,  the  one  adopting  the  pagan  system  of  ce- 
libacy, the  other  that  of  polygamy.  By  the  former, 
Rome  has  filled  Italy  in  Christian  times  with  the  im- 
natural  vice  of  heathen  countries ;  by  the  latter,  Islam 
has  wasted  its  settled  nations.  "Turkey  is  perishing 
for  want  of  Turks,"  Rome  for  want  of  Romans ;  and  all 


PAPAL  GOVEENMENT  IN  HOME.         403 

Romish  nations  that  would  preserve  their  strength  have 
been  obliged  so  far  to  learn  from  Reformed  Christianity 
as  to  restrain  the  conventual  abuses. 

The  decay  of  these  systems  has  been  by  opposite 
causes,  as  their  development  was  by  opposite  tenden- 
cies. Islam  has  lost  territory,  but  held  fast  the  opinion 
of  its  own  people.  Rome  lost  its  strongest  races  by 
the  revolt  of  opinion.  Both  hav^  now  long  been  de- 
pendent on  foreign  support ;  but,  in  the  case  of  the  sul- 
tan, it  is  to  protect  him  from  the  aggression  of  neigh- 
boring states,  or  the  uprising  of  conquered  races ;  with 
the  Pope,  it  is  to  sustain  him  against  his  own.  The 
former  holds  his  capital,  and  governs  within  his  realm ; 
the  latter  exists  only  by  force  of  alien  armies  bearing 
down  his  own  people. 

A  doom  overhangs  them  both.  Islam  sees  all  her 
frontiers  falling  in,  Rome  her  centre  heaving  beneath 
her :  humanity,  sighing  under  the  feet  of  both,  does  not 
ask,  "Will  they  fall?"  but  "When?"  Freedom,  edu- 
cation, virtue,  domestic  comfort,  commerce,  science,  and 
patriotism,  all  the  forms  owned  by  the  common  consent 
of  mankind  as  the  good  angels,  attendants  of  true  re- 
ligion, cry  aloud  for  their  downfall;  and  only  three 
forms  shrink  at  the  prospect — tyranny,  ignorance,  and 
superstition. 


APPENDIX 


A,  page  101. 

The  Wife  of  Garibaldi. 

(See  " Documents, "  vol.  ii.,  p.  608-610.) 

N.  3454  P.  E. 

Pontifical  GovERmiENT  Provincial  Police-office,  Ravenna. 

Most  reverend  Excellency, 

In  my  humble  communication  of  the  12th  instant,  bearing  the 
same  number,  I  submitted  to  your  excellency  that,  by  means  of  the 
inquiries  made  by  the  police  and  by  confidential  persons  secretly 
posted  about,  I  have  arrived  at  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  facts  re- 
specting the  unknown  body  of  a  woman.  There  is  no  longer  any 
doubt  that  the  body  is  that  of  the  woman  who  followed  Garibaldi, 
She  was  brought  dying,  on  a  phaeton,  by  Garibaldi  himself,  to  the 
farm-house  of  the  brothers  Eavaglia,  bailiffs  of  the  Marquis  Guicci- 
oli  on  one  of  his  estates  at  Mandriole.  The  woman  was  suffering 
from  pernicious  fever,  as  it  was  expressed  by  Doctor  Nannini  of  S. 
Alberto,  Avho  was  casually  present  when  they  arrived,  and  felt  her 
pulse.  Carried  into  a  chamber  and  laid  on  a  bed,  the  assistance  of 
a  glass  of  water  was  brought  to  her ;  but  she  had  scarcely  imbibed  a 
few  drops  when  she  ceased  to  live.  Garibaldi  was  present,  and  broke 
out  into  bursts  of  inconsolable  grief  for  such  a  misfortune,  and  short- 
ly after  took  to  flight,  charging  the  family  to  give  the  body  honor- 
able burial.  These  facts  occurred  on  the  4th  instant,  toward  even- 
ing, in  the  presence  of  more  than  twenty  persons,  the  laborers  being 
assembled  to  receive  their  week's  wages. 

I  at  once  sent  police  to  arrest  the  brothers  Ravaglia,  which  has 
been  accomplished,  and  the  court  is  preparing  the  indictment.  It  is 
already  ascertained  that  the  above-named  farmers,  seized  with  fear 
of  the  grave  responsibility  to  which  they  were  exposed,  for  the  mo- 
mentary shelter  given  to  Garibaldi,  and  for  the  death  of  his  wife  oc- 


406  APPENDIX. 

curring  in  their  house,  adopted  the  plan  of  hiding  it,  and  hence 
buried  the  body  in  the  fields. 

It  will  be  my  duty  to  inform  you  of  the  result  of  the  trial,  and,  in 
the  mean  time,  with  perfect  esteem  and  profound  respect,  I  remain 
your  most  reverend  excellency's  most  devoted  and  obliged  servant, 

A.  LovATELLi,  Delegate. 
Ravenna,  August  15th,  1849. 
To  S.  E.  R.  Mons.  Comm.  Extraordinary,  Bologna. 

N.  1076—576. 
From  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Civil  and  Military  Government. 

DlSCHAKGE  OF  THE  BROTHERS  RaVAGLIA  FROM  UNDER  ArREST. 

From  the  judicial  proceedings  recorded  by  the  civil  and  criminal 
court  of  Ravenna  against  the  brothers  Stephen  and  Joseph  Ravaglia, 
of  Mandriole,  accused  of  killing  the  wife  of  Garibaldi,  we  gather  that 
the  suit  is  justly  suspended  as  to  this  charge ;  and  considering  that 
the  momentary  reception  accorded  to  the  fugitive  husband  and  wife 
Garibaldi,  in  the  house  of  the  Ravaglias,  from  a  sense  of  humanity, 
took  place  before  the  publication  of  the  notice  of  August  5th,  tliis 
can  not  be  regarded  as  at  all  affecting  the  act  in  question. 

Therefore  better  to  respond  to  your  valued  communication  of  the 
3d,  M.  A.  N.  560,  in  which  you  request  me  to  expedite  this  affair,  I 
directly  order  the  signor  delegate  of  Ravenna  instantly  to  dischai-ge 
the  brothers  Ravaglia  from  prison. 

I  return  the  above-named  judicial  proceedings,  and  beg  to  assm*e 
you  of  my  esteem  and  consideration. 

In  the  name  of  the  governor,  Marziani. 

Bologna,  September  5th,  184J). 
To  S,  E,  R.  Mons.  G.  Bedini,  Commissioner  i„\u:iuruiu:irj-,  Bologna. 


B,  page  125. 

The  Conforteria  of  the  Ferrara  Case. 

(Sec  "Documents,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  539-545.) 

Conforteria  di  Luigi  Parmeggiani  in  Cittadella,  la  notte  delli  15  alii 
16  Marzo,  1853. 
Il  dope  desinare  del  giorno  15  Marzo,  1853,  li  tro  confortatori  dcs- 
tinati  da  S.  E.  il  sig.  govematore  si  portarono  alia  casa  del  Rev.  Sig. 
Arciprete  Presidente  alle  ore  4  c  mczza  pomeridiane.  Mczz'  ora 
dopo  cntrarono  in  carrozza  e  furono  condotti  in  Fortezza.     Smonta- 


APPENDIX.  407 

rono  sotto  il  loggiato  di  guardia  e  si  misero  a  sedere  su  delle  panche 
e  vi  passarono  un'  ora.  Venne  un  capitano  che  parlava  egregia- 
mente  1'  Italiano,  li  condusse  in  una  camera  di  ricevimento,  li  servi 
di  caffe,  e  li  prego  di  aspettare  I'uditore  che  pranzava  all'  Europa. 
Dopo  r  ave  Maria  furono  ricondotti  nel  loggiato  come  sopra,  ed  as- 
pettarono  ancora  un'  ora,  perche  la  moglie  del  succi  urlava  dispera- 
tamente,  ne  voleva  partirsi  dalla  camera  del  marito,  e  quella  del  Par- 
meggiani  presa  da  convulsioni  impazzi,  bestemmiando  orribilmente. 
Queste  infelici  seppero  la  fatale  destinazione  dei  loro  consorti  dalle 
loro  bocclie. 

II  Kev.  Presidente  Guitti,  e  li  tre  confortatori  entrarono  nella  ca- 
mera del  succi :  stava  in  piedi  a  testa  scoperta,  guardato  a  vista  da 
cinque  soldati,  armati  di  fucile.  II  paziente  non  era  legato,  ma  tutto 
sciolto.  Gli  dissero  come  uno  di  loro  era  venuto  a  tenergli  compag- 
nia,  a  piangere  con  lui,  a  riconciliarlo  con  Dio :  scegliesse.  Succi 
disse  in  tuono  alto,  ' '  lo  accetto  tutti ;  ma  poiche  io  sono  il  piu  vec- 
chio  dei  tre  disgraziati,  scegliero  il  confessore  piu  veccliio."  Allora 
il  M.  Arciprete,  gettandogli  le  braccia  al  coUo,  e  baciandolo  in  fronte, 
disse,  "Son  io."  Ma  soggiunse  il  paziente:  "Prima  voglio  fare 
un  poco  di  testamento,  e  dire  die  la  confessione,  e  deposizione  in  is- 
critto  che  ho  fatto  alia  commissione  inilitaire,  T7ii  e  stata  estorta  colla 
violenza,  colla  panca,  col  bastone,  e  colle  catene  :  ne  minacciavano  solo, 
ma  hattevano,  e  se  non  si  voleva  morire  sotto  iljlagello^  hisogimva  dire 
quello  che  essi  volevano.'" 

Passarono  dal  D.  Malagutti.  Come  li  vidde  si  gitto  in  ginocchio 
piangendo  dirottamente,  bacio  a  tutti  la  mano,  e  disse:  "  Sia  rin- 
graziato  iddio  die  veggo  un  sacerdote  in  queste  mie  angustie  che 
mi  opprimono  dalle  ore  undici  antimeridiane :"  si  alzo  e  continuo: 
"Io  voglio  confessare  tutti  li  miei  peccati,  e  dirli  che  confido  tanto 
nella  misericordia  di  Dio,  che  mi  pare  sino  peccare  di  presunzione. 
E  sappiano  che  we'  i7iiei  costituti  ho  dovuto  dire  quello  che  essi  voleva- 
no ;  che  ho  sofferto  una  tortura  orribile  ;  che  vii  hanno  cagionato  una 
emmoragia  di  sangue  .  .  .  stiano  tutti  con  me,  non  mi  abbandonino." 
Quando  gli  dissero  che  scegliesse,  disse,  "II  mio  compagno  di  scuo- 
la  d'allora,  Don  Luigi  Zuffi." 

Passarono  dal  Parmeggiani.  Si  alzo  da  sedere  :  tenne  il  cappello 
in  testa  e  disse,  "Sono  venuti  per  confessarmi?  io  sono  innocente ; 
io  mi  voglio  confessare  in  pubblico,  alia  presenza  della  commissione, 
e  dire  che  quello  che  ho  detto  e  scritto  mi  e  state  estorto  con  diinande 
suggestive,  colle  catene,  lasciandomi  un  mese  intero  incatenato  giorno  e 


408  APPENDIX. 

notte ;  col  bastone,  jyer  cui  ho  dovuio  essere  portaio  alio  spedale  delle 
Martiri,  e  starvi  diciotto  giorni."  Gli  si  disse  die  scegliesse  uno  dei 
tre :  li  guardo  tutti  in  volto,  e,  conoscendone  uno,  disse  piangendo, 
"Lei  padre,  lei  che  ha  avuto  moglie  e  figli,  lei,  che  piu  facilmente 
compatira  un  padre  afflittissimo,  che  lascia  la  moglie,  e  due  figlie  da 
marito  nella  miseria;"  e  presolo  con  forza  per  la  mano,  se  lo  fece 
sedere  sulla  sua  panca. 

Parmeggiani  era  preso  da  una  forte  conrulsionc  e  piangeva.  Bewc 
acqua  fresca  c  caffe  tutta  notte  :  voile  sempre  accesa  la  stufa.  Non 
tacque  mai,  parlo  sempre  dell'  ingiusio  ed  iniquo  modo  di  cereare  la 
veritd  coi  tormenti  sotto  dei  quali  mentisce  il forte,  ed  ildebole.  Scrisse 
una  lettera  a  sua  moglie :  fece  testamento  per  li  atti  Bottonelli.  Si 
confessb  due  volte,  e  voile  piu  volte  V  assoliizione.  Lesse  le  proteste 
delf  anima,  ehbe  1'  assoluzione  pontificia,  c/ece  tutti  li  atti  del  Cristi- 
ano.  AUe  ore  due  dopo  mezzanotte  Parmeggiani  disse,  "  Saprei  pur 
volentieri  sc  i  mici  compagni  si  sono  confessati.  Vada  a  sentire,  e 
gli  dica  che  io  mi  sono  confessato,  che  gli  dimando  perdono  dello 
scandalo  dato  coi  fatti  e  colle  parole,  se  fossi  stato  la  cagione  delle 
loro  pene." 

II  confortatore  ando  dal  succi :  era  in  letto :  si  alzo ;  ed  intesa 
Tambasciata  disse  con  enfasi,  ^'  Io  debho  dimandare  perdono  a  lui,  che 
Vho  sedotto  ;  e  se  ci  incontreremo  prima  del  supplizio  lo  prego  volermi 
dare  il  bacio  del  perdono. "     Si  era  confessato  alia  sera  da  M.  Guitti. 

Malagutti  fumava  un  sigaro,  seduto  al  letto  col  suo  confortatore, 
e  disse  d'aver  perdonato  a  tutti,  come  voleva  che  Dio  perdonasso 
a  lui. 

Alle  ore  sette  della  mattina  IG,  Parmeggiani  ed  il  confortatore  fu- 
rono  fatti  discendere  nell'  atrio :  trovarono  il  Dott.  JVIalagutti  in 
mezzo  ai  soldati  solo,  perche  il  di  lui  confortatore  diceva  la  messa  in 
Chiesa.  H  confortatore  del  Parmeggiani  lo  prese  colla  mano  sinis- 
tra, perchfe  colla  destra  teneva  il  suo  pazientc.  Si  baciarono.  Nello 
stesso  tempo  arrivo  succi,  li  abbraccio,  li  bacio  tutti  due,  c  gli  disse : 
^^  Addio.^'  Si  awiarono  alia  Chiesa  dicendo  li  atti  difede.  Si  pose- 
vo  in  ginocchio  a  pie  deH'altarc.  Malagutti  e  Parmeggiani  vollero 
huovamente  I'assoluzione.  Fecero  la  santa  comunione  colli  atti  pre- 
paratori  concomitanti  e  sussegucnti  con  somma  divozione.  AH'  ulti- 
mo evangelio  si  alzarono  in  piedi  e  Malagutti  disse  forte :  "  Quanta 
mi  sembra  di  essere  leggiero  !  Signore,  li  anni  di  vita  che  mi  si  tolgo- 
no  dateli  a  mia  madre  /"  e  Parmeggiani  ripete  la  esclamazionc  e  disse : 
*^alle  7nie  figlie  J** 


APPENDIX.  409 

Torno  il  confortatore  dal  D.  Malagutti,  e  si  awiarono  al  supplizio ; 
prima  succi,  poi  Parmeggiani,  poi  Malagutti.  Passarono  per  la  pi- 
azza d'arme,  per  la  porta  del  soccorso,  andarono  nelli  spaldi  detti  di 
san  Giacomo :  mezz'  ora  di  cammino  in  tante  giravolte,  ed  a  passo 
lento.  Gli  si  voleva  porre  la  benda  alii  occhi.  Succi  e  Parmeggi- 
ani dissero  non  essere  necessario.  Parmeggiani  s'inginnocchio,  uni 
le  mani,  chiuse  gli  occhi,  dicendo  forte  Gesii,  ec.  Un  tenente  disse 
clie  era  suo  dovere  fossero  bendati,  ed  un  soldato  gli  mise  un  fazzo- 
letto  bianco  essendo  in  ginocchio,  ed  altri  tre  spararono  i  loro  fucili 
nel  petto,  e  nella  fronte.  Parmeggiani  cadde  boccone,  e  non  si  mosse 
piu.     E  morto  come  un  martire  f 

Firmato.  II  Confortatore  D.  G.  P. 
(Note  of  Commissioners.) — N.B.  The  letters  D.  G.  P.  mean  Don 
Giuseppe  Poltronieri.  This  worthy  priest,  and  the  others  named  in 
the  above  repoi't  to  the  arch-confraternity  of  the  Buona  Morte,  never 
left  the  condemned  men,  so  that  the  facts  set  forth  can  not  be  im- 
pugned by  the  Austrian  or  pontifical  government,  and  will  remain  an 
irrefragable  proof  of  their  common  barbarity. 

Carlo  Aw.  Mazzccchi, 
Gaetano  D.  Dondi, 
Cbmmissione7's  in  Ferrarafor  the  Investigation  of 
Documents  on  the  Pontifical  Government. 
Ferrara,  December  22d,  1859. 


C,  page  147. 

Lonis  Napoleon. 

(See  "Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  55-63.) 

Li  2i  Giugno,  1846. 

Illustrissimo  Signore, 

QuESTA  direzione  di  polizia  h  venuta  a  sapere,  che  nella  notte  del 

21  corrente  arrive  a  Porretta  un  giovane  forestiere,  sconosciuto,  ca- 

rico  d'armi  e  di  danaro,  il  quale  avendo  preso  alloggio  nella  locanda 

condotta  da  Luigi  FeiTari  sebbene  si  facesse  chiamare  con  nome 

finto,  venne  non  pertanto  conosciuto  da  una  signora  inglese,  che  abi- 

ta  nella  locanda  medesima  per  il  figlio  di  Girolamo  Bonaparte.     Ap- 

pena  giunto  il  suddetto  incognito  mostro  desiderio  di  vedere  e  parlare 

col  Contino  Napoleone  Camerata  figlio  della  Principessa  Baciocchi, 

e  spedita  a  questo  una  lettera  qui  a  Bologna,  giunse  costa  precipito- 

samente  verso  le  ore  undici  antimeridiane  del  giorno  22  condotto  dal 

s 


410  APPENDIX. 

vetturino  Bolognese  Battista  Golinelli.  Alia  distanza  di  un  buon 
niiglio  da  Porretta  il  figlio  di  Girolamo  incontro  per  la  strada  pro- 
vinciale  il  Contino  Camerata,  die  smontato  dal  legno  proseguirono  a 
piedi  il  viaggio  fino  alia  locanda,  e  trattenutosi  a  Porretta  il  resto  di 
quella  giomata,  e  la  notte  successiva,  jeri  mattina  tutti  due  insieme 
si  diressero  verso  la  Toscana  sopra  un  biroccino  guidato  da  un  sud- 
dito  Toscano,  ma  accompagnati  fino  al  confine  dallo  stesso  Luigi 
Ferrari.  Prima  di  mettersi  in  viaggio  il  Contino  Camerata  avi-ebbe 
mandato  da  V.  S.  il  riscontrino  del  passaporto  ritirato  nell'  entrare 
in  questa  citta  per  avere  il  visto  per  i  bagni  di  Monte  Catini,  ma 
sebbene  ella  si  ricusasse  partirono  entrambi  a  quella  volta  stanteche 
I'incognito  figlio  di  Girolamo  possedeva  piu  di  un  passaporto.  La 
comparsa,  e  presenza  sebbene  momentanea  del  suddetto  forestiere 
desto  gran  cicalio  nel  eastello,  perche  da  tutti  ritenuto  pel  principe 
Luigi  Napoleone  Bonaparte,  teste  fuggito  dal  eastello  di  Ilara. 

Tutto  cio  premesso  non  posso  nascondere  la  mia  sorpresa  per  il  si- 
lenzio  serbato  da  V.  S.  Illustris.  su  questo  importantissimo  inci- 
dente,  e  sopratutto  dell'  indifFerenza  da  lei  usata,  e  della  forza  dei 
carabinieri  di  non  darsi  pcnsiero  di  verificare  se  fosse  realmente 
stato  il  Principe  Luigi  Napoleone,  sul  conto  del  quale  non  poteva 
ignorare  gli  ordini  del  governo  partecipati  alia  S.  V.  Illustris.  col  cir- 
colare  dispaccio  16  corrente  N°.  1199.  P.  R.  di  questo  Dicastero  Po- 
litico. 

Non  potendo  quindi  dubitare  della  sussistenza  delle  cose  suespresse, 
non  posso  dispensarmi  dal  richiedere  alia  S.  V.  Illustris.  tutti  i  ne- 
cessarj  schiarimenti,  occupandosi  di  proposito  delle  piu  riservate,  e 
prudenti  verificazioni,  e  di  farmi  conoscere  il  risultato  delle  di  lei  in- 
vcstigazioni  da  praticarsi  nel  modo  il  piii  circospetto,  massime  })resso 
il  locandiere  Ferrari  anclie  rispetto  alle  confidenzc  c  discorsi,  clie  il 
suddetto  incognito  possa  avcrgli  fjxtti,  non  occiiltandole  esserc  a  mia 
cognizione,  die  si  sarcbbe  sbilanciato  coUo  stesso  Ferrari,  con  ardite 
proposizioni  riguardo  ad  un  nipotc  del  Ferrari  chc  trovavasi  fra  i 
condannati  politici. 

In  attesa  di  analogo  c  dettagliato  riscontro  con  distinta  stima 
passo  a  confermarmi,  Curzi. 

No.  14  Riservata. 
Illustrissimo  Signore, 
Ikteso  sempre  a  poterc,  per  quanto  h  in  me  a  corrispondere  effi- 
cacemente  alle  ordinanze  del  superiorc  governo,  mi  affrctto  a  signifi- 


APPENDIX.  411 

carle,  che  il  principe  di  cui  parla  il  pregiato  foglio  della  S.  V.  Illus- 
triss.*  17  corr.  N.  697  div.  V,  P.  K.,  potrebbe  benissimo  sotto  menti- 
to  nome  e  con  passaporto  apparentemente  regolare,  penetrare  in 
questo  stato,  e  deluderne  la  piu  attenta  vigilanza,  giacche  quassu  non 
e  cM  lo  conosca  di  persona,  ed  e  noto  appena  che  conta  1'  eta  di 
quarantatre  anni  circa,  se  sono  veridici  gli  Almanacchi  che  annunzi- 
arono  il  di  lui  nascimento.  Ad  impedire  pertanto  che  non  rimanga- 
no  vuote  di  efFetto,  le  viste  del  governo,  e  ad  impedirlo  con  ogni  mez- 
zo possibile,  sara  necessario,  che  a  pronto  corso  di  posta  ella  si  com- 
piaccia  di  farmi  tenere  la  descrizione  del  connotati  personali  di  esso- 
lui,  dei  quali  faro  prontissima  e  riservatissima  la  partecipazione  agli 
impiegati  politici  del  confine. 

In  questa  intelligenza  mi  rafFcrmo  con  distinta  stima  e  considera- 
zione.     Delia  S.  V.  Illustrissima. 

Porretta,  21  Maggio,  1847. 
Obb.  dev.  servo, 

Alessandro  Zuffi  Saveki. 
Illustriss.  Sig.  Col.  Cav.  Direttore  della  Polizia  Provinciale,  Bologna. 

N.  751  P.  E. 

Al  Sig.  Governatore  di  Porretta. 

Li  27  Maggio,  1847. 
Illustrissimo  Signore, 

Non  esiste  in  questo  dicastero  la  indicazione  dei  connotati  personali 
del  principe  Luigi  Napoleone  Bonaparte,  e  sarebbe  malagevole  il  po- 
terli  con  precisione  raccogliere.  D'  altronde  essendo  costumanza  d' 
oggi  giorno  di  tenere  ora  lunga  la  barba,  ora  totalmente  rasa,  po- 
trebbero  essere  erronee  le  indicazioni  che  quest'  ufficio  potrebbe  pro- 
cacciarsi,  e  indurre  la  forza  in  qualche  equivoco  pregiudiccA-ole. 

Per  la  sorveglianza  poi  che  debbe  usarsi  in  cotesto  governo  relati- 
vamente  alia  mentovata  persona,  puo  essere  facile  il  risultato  piu  che 
altrove,  atteso  il  limitato  passaggio  di  forestieri. 

Tanto  a  riscontro  del  gradito  foglio  N.  14  Ris.  e  passo  a  confer- 
marmi,  II  Col.  Dirett.  Curzi. 


Page  192. — Judgment  of  the  Court  of  Bologna. 
Extract  from  a  Sentence  of  the  Tribunal  of  First  Instance  of  Bologna. 

Pontifical  Governjient. 
In  the  name  of  His  Holiness  Pius  IX. ,  happily  reigning. 
Sittings  of  the  days  12th,  13th,  and  16th  of  June,  1856. 


412  APPENDIX. 

The  Criminal  Tribunal  and  the  Civil  Tribunal  of  First  Instance, 
composed  of  the  most  illustrious  and  most  excellent  gentlemen  : 

The  Knight-advocate  Ferdinando  Speroni,  President. 

Advocate  Vicenzo  Bubbiani. 

Advocate  Ferdinando  Mazza. 

Advocate  Lorenzo  Donato  Liverani. 

To  judge  the  case  of  the  Bolognese  people  on  account  of  numer- 
ous house-breakings  against  fifty-nine  individuals. 

Sentence. 

Innumerable  crimes  of  every  kind  have  saddened  in  late  years  this 
city  and  province.  Thefts,  robberies,  highway  robberies,  were  of 
constant  occurrence,  especially  in  the  plains ;  and  house-breakings, 
which  were  committed  at  eveiy  hour  and  in  every  place,  increasing 
in  number  from  day  to  day,  the  malefactors  becoming  more  daring 
in  proportion  as  they  went  unpunished,  and  the  proceedings  against 
them  remaining  incomplete  for  want  of  specific  grounds. 

A  movable  column  of  the  police  force,  intrusted  to  the  command 
of  Lieutenant  Sirighi,  was  dispatched  to  scour  the  Bolognese  plains, 
to  discover  the  authore  of  these  misdeeds,  and  to  place  them  iu  ihe 
hands  of  justice. 

This  measure,  excellent  in  itself,  has  net,  however,  succeeded  in 
producing  all  the  results  that  might  have  been  obtained  from  it,  if, 

IN  CARRYING  IT  INTO  EFFECT,  LAWFUL  AND  HONEST  MEANS  HAD  BEEN 
ADOPTED,  AND  IF  WE  HAD  NOT,  ON  THE  CONTRARY,  TO  DEPLORE  SO 
MANY  VIOLENT  AND  FEROCIOUS  ACTS,  BY  WHICH  WERE  INSTIGATED 
AND  EXTORTED  FROM  MANY  OF  THE  PRISONERS  CONFESSIONS  OF  THEIR 
CRIMES,  WITH  ENORMOUS  ABUSE,  AND  MOST  OPEN  VIOLATION  OF  THE 

LAWS  IN  FORCE.  Whence  it  has  arisen  that  on  every  occasion  where 
confessions  are  presented  from  accused  parties,  tainted  with  such  in- 
curable vices,  the  tribunal,  firm  in  the  principle  constantly  followed, 
has  treated  them  as  null  and  non-existent. 

Charge  7tii. 
Whereas,  from  the  character  of  the  accused,  from  their  poverty, 
and  from  their  close  relations  of  friendship,  not  only  do  their  assert- 
ed spontaneous  confessions  not  corroborate,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
such  confessions  diminish  the  force  of  the  other  evidence ;  and  be- 
cause these  confessions  have  been  retracted  by  the  parties  making 
them,  and,  still  more,  because  there  are  i)roofs  on  the  record  of  the 

INSTIGATIONS  AND  VIOLENCES  USED  TO  EXTORT  THEM. 

Dismissed,  &c.,  &c. 


APPEN^DIX.  413 

Charge  10th. 
One  after  another,  the  parties  making  the  confessions  have  retract- 
ed them  almost  as  soon  as  they  saw  themselves  out  of  the  prisons  and 
the  hands  of  the  police,  and  exclaimed  against  the  instigations  and  the 
TORMENTS.  Nor  did  they  fail  in  proof  of  these.  Evidence,  of  what- 
soever sort,  issuing  from  such  an  impure  source,  loses  its  efficiency. 

Charge  IIth. 

Notwithstanding  this,  to  hold  them  guilty  of  this  crime,  there  ex- 
ists in  reality  no  other  ground  besides  their  own  confessions,  which 
they  afterward  retracted,  and  which,  on  the  record,  are  proved  to 
have  been  instigated  and  extorted  by  force  of  beatings  and 
TORMENTS.     Every  one  can  see  what  value  such  proofs  merit. 

Dismissed,  &c. 

Charge  14th. 

Also  Facchini  and  Bianchi  at  first  made  confession  of  theft,  per- 
fectly in  accord  with  that  of  Mignani;  but  these  confessions,  al- 
though verified  in  all  their  parts,  have  no  value,  there  being  strong 
grounds  for  believing  that  they  were  extorted  by  beatings,  as  the 
parties  protested  when  they  retracted  them. 

Dismissed,  «S:c. 

Charge  16th. 
There  are  doubtless  upon  the  process  such  professions,  but  isolated, 
and,  what  is  worse,  afterward  retracted  by  the  parties  making  them. 
Besides,  they  have  been  extorted  by  means  of  instigations,  and 
AViTH  beatings,  as  has  been  established,  and  are  therefore  unfit  to 
furnish  arguments  of  proof  to  their  disadvantage. 

Charge  21st. 
With  respect  to  Cavazza,  there  is  no  charge  against  him  beyond 
his  miserable  condition  and  his  bad  character,  his  own  confession  not 
meriting  any  value,  inasmuch  as  it  has  been  retracted  by  him,  and 
because  it  has  been  forcibly  extorted  by  the  police  by  means 
OF  TORTURE,  as  appears  on  the  record. 
Dismissed,  &c. 

Here  follow  the  signatures —  F.  Speroni,  President. 

V.  Bubbiani,  Judge. 
T.  Mazza,  Judge. 
L.  Liverani,  Judge. 
E.  Magnani,  Chancellor. 


414  APPENDIX. 

D,  p.  199. 

Edict  of  the  Synod  at  Loretio. 

(See  " Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  293-301.) 

Edict. 

The  cardinal  archbishop,  the  cardinal  bishops,  and  other  arch- 
bishops and  bishops  of  the  Marches  and  the  province  of  Urbino. 

To  their  most  beloved  people  of  these  dioceses,  peace  and  benedic- 
tion in  Jesus  Christ. 

By  means  of  special  authorization  of  the  most  eminent  signors, 
cardinals  of  the  S.  R.  C,  interpreters  of  the  high  council  of  Trent, 
the  Holiness  of  our  Lord,  Pope  Pius  IX.,  happily  reigning,  by  his 
venerated  dispatch  of  the  14:th  of  June,  1855,  has  deigned  to  ap- 
prove the  resolution  taken  by  the  bishops  of  the  Marches  and  of  flie 
province  of  Urbino,  united  in  ecclesiastical  disciplinary  synod  in 
Loretto  in  the  months  of  February  and  March  of  the  year  1850. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  undersigned  cardinal,  archbishops,  and  bishops, 
in  the  Lent  of  the  current  year,  1856,  have  felt  it  a  sacred  duty  to 
publish  the  decrees,  which  are  thought  opportune  for  the  removal 
of  the  disorders  and  scandals  which  most  frequently  arise  among 
Christian  people. 

Blasphemy,  non-observance  of  the  festivals,  profanation  of  church- 
es, breach  of  fasts,  and  immorality,  are  the  chief  sources  of  scandal ; 
and,  on  this  account,  our  attention  has  been  specially  directed  to  these. 

We  shall  not  here  repeat  how  horrible  is  blasphemy,  by  which  is 
directly  cursed  or  dishonored  that  God  who  gives  us  existence  that 
we  may  praise  and  honor  him.  How  iiTeligious  and  hurtful  is  the 
non-obsen-ance  of  festivals,  both  by  the  grave  offense  which  it  offers 
to  God,  who,  as  Master  of  time,  has  chosen  for  Himself  those  days, 
and  reser\'ed  them  for  His  worship,  and  by  the  loss  of  good,  and  in- 
curring of  evil,  which,  according  to  His  infallible  promise,  accom- 
pany it !  How  impious  is  the  profanation  of  churches,  which  are 
houses  of  God,  chosen  for  His  especial  dwelling,  replenished  with 
His  majesty,  places  of  prayer  and  worship !  How  insulting  to  the 
Church  is  the  violation  of  fasts  by  the  contempt  of  a  precept  which, 
while  it  injures  in  no  sense,  is  useful  even  to  the  health  of  the  body, 
and  of  immense  benefit  to  the  soul !  How  indecent  is  immorality, 
by  the  degradation  of  those  among  whom,  as  among  saints,  such  acts 
of  imcleanness  ought  not  to  be  named  I 


ATPENDIX.  415 

We  shall  also  abstain  from  calling  to  mind  with  what  severe  pun- 
ishment God  has  commanded,  in  the  Divine  Scriptures,  that  such 
offenses  should  be  visited;  with  what  punishment  also  they  are 
marked  in  the  canon  and  civil  law.  All  know  that,  according  tq 
the  circumstances  of  the  person  and  the  offense,  according  to  places 
and  times,  now  excommunication,  now  prison,  now  fine,  now  scourg- 
ing, now  exile,  and  even  death,  have  always  been  ordinary  pains* 

Without  abrogating  any  statutes  now  in  force,  we  have  here  pre- 
scribed that  which  principally  tends  to  repress  and  impede  those 
scandals.  It  is  with  the  highest  repugnance  that  we  feel  ourselves 
obliged  to  publish  decrees  directed  to  this  end,  as  if  among  Chris- 
tians there  were  those  who  are  held  to  their  duty  more  by  fear  of  our 
penalties  than  by  the  menaces  of  the  Divine  Master  himself,  whose 
terrible  words  we  ought  always  to  have  present  to  our  minds  ;  ' '  Woe 
to  those  by  whom  offenses  come;  woe  to  the  world  because  of 
offenses." 

But  since  experience  assures  us  that  neither  the  love  of  God,  nor 
the  force  of  duty,  nor  the  fear  of  the  eternal  and  temporal  penalties 
threatened  by  God,  suffices  to  hinder  in  some  the  public  violation 
of  Divine  and  ecclesiastical  laws,  we,  upon  whom  it  rests  to  forward 
by  our  care  the  salvation  of  all  souls  committed  to  our  pastoral 
charge,  can  do  no  othenvise  than  use  the  right  which  God  has  de- 
posited in  our  hands  for  edification,  when  necessity  demands  it,  with- 
out rendering  ourselves  responsible  for  the  perdition  of  those  who,  by 
our  fault,  either  do  not  return  from  the  way  of  error,  or  follow  evil 
examples  not  punished. 

While,  however,  we  have  not  been  able  to  evade  the  enactment 
of  penalties  against  those  who  should  offend,  under  any  of  the  heads 
already  named,  the  intention  of  our  heart  has  been  rather  to  cure 
than  to  punish ;  whence  we  have  made  a  point  of  distinguishing  be- 
tween delinquents  who  are  perverters  and  delinquents  who  are  per- 
verts— that  is,  those  who  make  themselves  public  transgressors  of  the 
laws  of  God  and  of  the  Church  with  a  view  to  diminish  or  destroy 
the  respect  and  veneration  due  to  the  sacred  things,  from  those  who 
fall  into  such  offenses  from  want  of  proper  care  and  consideration, 
or  from  those  following  depraved  examples.  Against  the  first  we 
are  obliged  to  proceed  with  all  the  rigor  of  the  canon  and  civil  law ; 
against  the  second,  however,  especially  having  reflected  upon  the 
number  of  scandals  and  seductions  which  have  taken  place  in  recent 
political  and  religious  commotions,  in  the  hope  of  securing  their  em- 


416  APPEXDIX. 

endation  by  mild  penalties,  or,  rather,  by  medicinal  regime,  wc  have 
detei-mined  to  jn-oceed  according  to  the  following  rules : 

FiKST  Head — Blasphemy. 

Article  I.  Blasphemy,  and  any  insults  proffered,  in  the  presence 
of  another,  against  the  most  holy  name  of  God,  of  the  most  blessed 
Virgin,  or  of  the  saints,  shall  be  summarily  punished  by  from  ten  to 
thirtij  days'  imprisonment,  or  by  rigorous  spiritual  exercise  in  some 
religious  house,  at  the  will  of  the  Ordinary. 

Article  II.  For  a  second  offense  the  penalty  will  be  more  se- 
vere; and  the  prisoner  must  pass  some  days  on  bread  and  water, 
according  to  the  greater  or  less  gravity  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
offense  and  of  the  delinquent. 

Article  III.  In  obstinate  cases,  the  ordinary  penalties  of  the 
canon  and  civil  law  in  force  shall  be  applied,  at  the  will  of  the  Or- 
dinary. 

Article  IV.  Keepers  of  coffee-houses,  hotels,  public  houses,  eat- 
ing-houses, and  such  like,  under  the  penalty  of  Article  I.,  shall  bo 
obliged  to  correct  blasphemers ;  and  even  to  expel  from  their  shops, 
rooms,  and  places  of  resort  those  who  shall  persist  in  blaspheming 
after  being  rebuked. 

Article  V.  In  case  that  they  shall  find  opposition,  and  not  bo 
able  to  expel  the  blasphemers,  they  shall  report  immediately  to  the 
officers  of  the  Inquisition  {la  Curia),  failing  of  which  several  times, 
measures  of  the  greatest  rigor  shall  be  taken  against  them. 

Article  VI.  Under  this  head  it  is  not  intended  to  comprise  those 
who  studiously  introduce,  either  with  words  or  in  writing,  false  prin- 
ciples concerning  the  divinity  or  against  the  doctrine  of  the  Church, 
and,  in  general,  those  who  utter  heretical  blasphemies,  because  these 
are  not  simjjle  blasphemers,  but  dogmatizers  and  heretics,  or,  at  least, 
suspected  of  heresy.  Such  will  be  proceeded  against  in  the  estab- 
lished forms  [that  is,  by  the  canon  and  civil  law  as  opposed  to  sum- 
mary punishment]  ;  and  here  we  record  the  most  weighty  obligation 
that  rests  upon  every  one  to  denounce  to  the  competent  ecclesias- 
tical tribunals  within  the  period  of  one  month,  under  pain  of  excom- 
munication in  the  widest  sense,  the  names  of  those  whom  they  may 
have  known  to  utter  the  above-named  and  similar  perverse  principles, 
or  express  heretical  blasphemies. 

Article  VII.  It  being,  according  to  experience,  very  helpful  in 
impeding  blasphemies,  to  establish  a  confraternity  of  pious  persons, 


APPENDIX.  417 

who,  vested  in  a  frock,  and  the  head  and  face  covered  with  a  domi- 
no, shall  go  when  the  Ordinary  feels  it  expedient,  and  present  them- 
selves, either  alone  or  two  together,  in  the  resorts  and  places  where 
this  vice  is  most  frequent,  to  reprove  blasphemies  in  kindly  ways 
and  with  brotherly  love.  Also,  the  sound  of  the  chief  church  bell 
of  the  place,  in  days  and  hours  determined,  (is  useful)  to  call  to  the 
memory  of  every  one  the  engagement  both  to  abstain  from  blasphe- 
my and  to  apply  paternal  reproof.  In  every  city  and  district  of  our 
diocese  where  it  does  not  already  exist,  shall  be  formed  a  confrater- 
nity under  the  title  of  the  Most  Holy  Name  of  God  ;  and  where 
this  can  not  be  established,  the  same  duty  shall  be  enjoined  upon  a 
confraternity  already  canonically  established.  And  we  decree  that, 
in  every  city  and  village,  the  bell  of  the  chief  church  shall  be  sound- 
ed every  quarter  of  an  hour — every  Saturday  at  the  hour  of  eight 
o'clock  at  night. 

Second  Head — The  Non-obsekvance  of  Feasts. 

Article  VIII.  In  the  prescribed  feast-days,  from  the  midnight 
preceding  to  the  midnight  following,  every  one  shall  abstain  from 
every  servile  work,  and  from  all  other  work,  even  though  not  servile, 
in  days  expressly  forbidden. 

Article  IX.  In  case  of  necessity  not  contemplated  in  the  follow- 
ing articles,  every  one  must  obtain  a  gratuitous  permit  of  us,  or  of 
our  vicar-general  in  the  cities,  and  of  the  vicars  of  the  courts  in  the 
districts ;   and,  failing  them,  of  their  own  parish  priest. 

Article  X.  It  is  forbidden  to  hold  markets  even  on  those  feast- 
days.  Let  them  be  removed  to  those  days  not  festivals  preceding  or 
following.  The  same  is  decreed  of  fairs.  If,  however,  any  of  these 
have  hitherto  been  tolerated  on  festival  days  from  a  very  ancient  date, 
they  may  be  so  at  present,  provided  that  the  shops  are  shut,  and  busi- 
ness suspended  in  the  hours  of  Divine  service,  according  to  the  terms 
of  the  Constit.  of  Benedict  XIV.,  Ab  eo  tempore,  November  5th,  1745. 

Article  XI.  It  is  equally  forbidden  to  expose  in  squares  or  other 
public  places,  or  to  carry  round,  merchandise  of  any  sort. 

Article  XII.  Those,  however,  who  in  fixed  and  accustomed 
places  sell  -fish,  fruit,  vegetables,  and  other  articles  of  food,  will  be 
tolerated,  provided  they  remain  distant  from  the  church,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  which  it  shall  always  be  forbidden  to  stand,  and 
keep  their  merchandise  covered,  in  the  time  of  Divine  service  ceas- 
ing to  vend  them. 

S2 


418  APPENDIX. 

Article  XUI.  All  shops,  warehouses,  offices,  and  similar  places 
must  remain  always  closed,  and  shall  not  be  opened  except  in  cases 
where  they  sei-ve  as  entrances  to  private  dwellings,  for  the  simple 
convenience  of  ingress  and  egress. 

Article  XIV.  Keepers  of  coiFee-houses,  eating-houses,  tobacco- 
nists, and  salt-sellers,  pork-butchers,  butchers,  bakers,  sellers  of  flour 
and  of  other  eatables,  hotel-keepers,  publicans,  and  other  wine-vend- 
ers, even  in  private  houses,  will  keep  only  a  wicket  open,  and  with- 
out any  thing  being  disjjlayed,  except  in  the  time  of  Divine  service, 
when  they  shall  keep  their  shops  and  places  of  trade  entirely  closed. 

Article  XV.  Barbers,  except  in  the  hours  of  DiWne  service,  and 
at  Easter  and  Christmas,  may  keep  their  doors  open,  but  covered 
with  a  curtain. 

Article  XVI.  Chemists  on  any  day  or  hour  may  sell  medicine, 
and  may  keep  their  shops  sufficiently  open  to  give  them  light. 

Article  XVII.  No  one  shall  transport  merchandise,  or  any  thing 
whatever,  in  carts  with  beasts,  or  in  any  other  manner,  unless  it  be 
in  prosecution  of  a  journey  undertaken  on  a  week-day,  and  after 
having  heard  the  holy  INIass. 

Article  XVIII.  All  bj\lls  are  prohibited,  as  also  all  games,  in 
coffee-houses,  inns,  public  houses,  taveras,  and  such  like,  and  also  in 
public  squares  and  roads,  both  in  cities  and  in  districts ;  only  in  the 
afternoon,  when  the  holy  ceremonies  are  terminated,  games  not  pro- 
hibited by  the  laws  in  force  shall  be  tolerated.  But  to  those  who 
play  at  buttons,  ball,  foot-ball,  or  peg-top,  and  other  such  games,  the 
neighborhood  of  churches,  of  monasteries,  of  asylums  for  orphan  girls, 
and  of  infirmaries,  are  all  prohibited. 

Article  XIX.  Tumblers,  mountebanks,  and  other  strollers,  under 
whatever  name  comprehended,  shall  not  mount  on  the  stage,  or  hold 
parties,  for  songs  or  other  sounds,  for  the  sale  of  waters,  balsams,  or 
such  things ;  among  these  arc  included  those  vagabonds  who  expose 
in  the  streets  or  squares  little  altars,  credence  tables,  or  other  things 
connected  with  statues  and  sacred  images,  relating  stories,  setting 
forth  miracles,  selling  writs,  cards,  and  other  things,  under  the  name 
of  devotion,  all  which  are  prohibited  even  in  days  not  festivals. 

Article  XX.  Public  shows  and  representations,  even  though  re- 
ligious, shall  not  take  place  without  formal  permission. 

Article  XXI.  Evciy  transgression  of  the  decrees  expressed  under 
this  head  shall  be  summarily  punished  by  a  fine  of  from  five  pauls  to 
three  scudis  [that  is,  from  two  shillings  to  twelve  shillings],  or  with 


APPENDIX.  419 

imprisonment  from  two  to  twelve  days;  but  fathers,  masters,  and 
guardians  shall  be  prosecuted  with  greater  severity,  who  shall  have 
made  their  children  or  their  dependents  do  such  forbidden  work. 

Article  XXII.  For  a  second  offense  the  penalty  will  be  doubled, 
and  also  against  keepers  of  coffee-houses,  inns,  public  houses,  and 
such  like,  who  shall  allow  games  (see  Article  XVIII. )  in  their  shops, 
and  against  those  who  shall  hold  balls,  or  lend  their  rooms,  and 
against  those  who,  enjoying  permission  to  sell,  in  the  hours  permit- 
ted, eatables  alone,  shall  in  those  hours  sell  other  merchandise,  in 
evasion  of  the  law. 

Article  XXIII.  In  cases  of  obstinacy,  measures  of  the  utmost 
rigor  shall  be  taken,  according  to  the  guilt  of  the  offense  and  gravity 
of  the  circumstances. 

Third  Head — Profanation  of  Churches. 

[Under  this  head  eleven  articles  describe  all  sorts  of  irreverence, 
such  as  keeping  on  the  hat,  not  bowing  at  the  elevation  of  the  Host, 
women  coming  in  with  their  heads  uncovered,  and  other  offenses, 
and  it  concludes  thus :] 

Article  XXXIV.  In  processions  due  religious  reverence  shall 
be  observed ;  and  when  the  holy  viaticum  is  met  in  the  public  way, 
the  knee  must  be  bowed  to  the  earth  and  the  head  uncovered. 

Article  XXXV.  Violators  of  the  above-named  regulations  shall 
be  proceeded  against  by  summary  punishment,  according  to  the 
gravity  of  the  fault  and  the  scandal  which  it  has  caused. 

Article  XXXVI.  The  obstinate  shall  be  punished  with  heavier 
pains ;  and  those  who  have  been  several  times  summarily  punished 
without  effect,  or  who  are  chargeable  with  graver  faults,  shall  be 
punished  according  to  the  forms  of  the  sacred  canons  and  of  the  ex- 
isting penal  law.  Article  LXXIV.  and  following. 

Fourth  Head — On  the  Violation  of  Fasts. 

Article  XXXVII.  On  fast-days,  and  on  those  whereon  meats 
are  forbidden,  if  there  is  just  cause,  it  is  lawful  to  use  them  in  pri- 
vate, under  the  direction  of  a  physician ;  but,  to  avoid  scandal,  keep- 
ers of  lodging-houses,  eating-houses,  coffee-houses,  inns,  and  such 
like,  shall  not  serve  forbidden  food,  except  to  those  persons  who  shall 
produce  a  certificate,  signed  by  both  a  physician  and  the  parish 
priest. 

Article  XXXVIII.  Physicians  and  parish  priests  shall  not  give 


420  APPEXDIX. 

such  certificates  except  to  persons  whom,  according  to  their  knowl- 
edge and  conscience,  they  shall  judge  to  have  need  of  the  prohibited 
food.  '■ 

Article  XXXIX.  Those  who  have  a  lawful  dispensation  to  use 
prohibited  food  in  days  of  abstinence  and  of  fast  are  forbidden  to  eat 
them  openly  in  eating-houses,  lodging-houses,  coffee-houses,  inns,  or 
other  places ;  they  may  only  take  them  in  separate  places  or  cham- 
bers. 

Article  XL.  It  is  truly  deplorable  that  some  keepers  of  lodging- 
houses,  eating-houses,  inns,  and  such  like,  to  the  great  scandal  and 
wonder  of  good  men,  have  not  ready  on  days  of  abstinence  Lenten 
diet  to  offer  to  those  guests  who  are  not  furnished  with  the  certificate 
of  a  doctor  or  parish  priest,  as  above :  they  are  reminded  of  the 
strict  duty  incumbent  upon  them  not  to  fail  to  have  in  their  houses 
in  the  days  specified  this  kind  of  food,  and  the  guilt  which  on  failure 
of  this  they  will  incur  under  a  violated  law. 

Article  XLI.  Hosts  are  not  permitted  to  cook  meat  on  the  days 
indicated ;  and  when  persons  who  have  a  \mtten  license  to  use  it 
shall  produce  this  license  to  them,  they  shall  prepare  the  food  in  a 
place  not  open  to  the  public. 

Article  XLII.  Offenses  against  the  regulations  contained  under 
this  head  shall  be  summarily  punished,  as  in  Article  XXI. 

Article  XLIII.  For  a  second  offense  the  penalty  shall  be  double  ; 
and  those  who  shall  be  guilty  of  multiplied  offenses,  or  of  open  con- 
tempt, shall  be  proceeded  against  with  all  the  rigor  of  the  existing 
canon  and  civil  law. 

Fifth  Head — Immorality. 

It  is  forbidden  to  give  or  serve  to  others  in  whatever  manner,  or 
expose  in  public  under  whatever  pretext,  books,  printed  papers,  and 
obscene  works,  under  the  pain  of  imprisonment  from  jive  to  fifteen 
days,  besides  the  forfeit  of  the  articles. 

Article  XLV.  Obscene  songs,  in  whatever  place  or  time,  shall 
be  punished  with  imprisonment  from  three  to  mine  days. 

Article  XL VI.  Under  the  same  penalty  it  is  forbidden  to  bathe 
or  fish  with  the  body  naked,  in  public  or  frequented  places,  or  in  the 
neighborhood  of  dwellings  where  the  two  sexes  are  mixed  together. 

Article  XLVII.  Licentious  reprecentations  of  whatever  kind,  if 
in  private,  shall  be  punished  by  from  five  to  fifteen  days  of  prison ; 
if  in  public,  with  double  that  penalty. 


APPEN^DIX.  421 

Article  XLVIII.  They  shall  be  equally  punished  who  in  public 
houses,  cellars,  inns,  hotels,  or  other  similar  places,  shall  give  accom- 
modation to  persons  of  the  two  sexes  to  lose  themselves  in  licentious 
entertainment ;  and  if  they  do  not  desist,  their  licenses  will  be  sus- 
pended. 

Article  XLIX.  Keepers  of  hotels,  lodging-houses,  coffee-houses, 
and  such  like,  are  forbidden  to  have  in  their  service  women  brought 
under  the  surveillance  of  the  Holy  Office  for  their  bad  conduct.  In 
case  of  transgression,  if  they  continue  to  retain  them,  they  shall  be 
punished  under  the  preceding  article. 

Article  L.  Acquaintances  suspected  of  offenses  contrary  to  good 
morals,  when  scandals  arise,  if  they  shall  be  continued  after  admo- 
nition, shall  be  restrained  by  the  commands  of  the  Holy  Office,  and 
in  case  of  contravention  they  shall  undergo  the  penalties  determined 
upon  in  the  command. 

Article  LI.  All  those  on  whom  rest  the  care  and  custody  of 
young  people,  when  they  shall  be  discovered  to  connive  either  at  un- 
lawful loves,  or  shall  blamably  neglect  to  remove  the  occasions  of 
them,  if  after  being  admonished  they  persist,  shall  be  punished  with 
imprisonment  from  three  to  nine  days:  should  the  case  arise  in 
which  the  young  people  responsible  to  them  render  themselves  liable 
to  punishment,  they  shall  also  be  punished  with  double  the  penalty, 
and  all  prayers  and  measures  which  they  may  take  to  obtain  com- 
pensation or  reparation  shall  be  rejected. 

Article  LII.  For  second  offenses  in  any  case  whatever  contem- 
plated under  this  head,  penalties  may  be  inflicted  according  to  cir- 
cumstances. 

Article  LIII.  Those  who  shall  offend  frequently,  or  be  guilty 
of  offenses  against  good  manners  and  decency,  especially  comprised 
in  the  penal  laws  in  force,  from  Article  CLXVIII.  to  Article 
CLXXXVII.  inclusively,  shall  be  proceeded  against  according  to 
the  forms  of  the  canon  and  civil  law. 

GE^^ERAL  regulations. 

Article  LIV.  In  all  the  above-named  cases,  in  order  to  apply 
the  summary  punishments,  a  simple  and  speedy  pracedure  will  suf- 
fice, when  the  facts,  generally  and  specially,  shall  be  stated.  The 
names  of  the  informers  and  witnesses  shall  be  kept  secret. 

Article  LV.  The  fine  shall  be  given,  one  half  to  the  benefit  of 
places  of  worship,  appointed  by  the  Ordinary ;  and  the  other  half 


422  APPENDIX. 

shall  be  dirided,  part  to  the  informer,  and  part  to  the  police,  if  they 
have  had  to  do  with  the  case.  When  the  punishment  shall  be  other 
than  fine,  if  the  person  guilty  has  the  means,  he  must  pay  fifty  half- 
pence for  the  benefit  of  the  informer  or  police,  as  above,  besides  his 
expenses  for  victuals  and  other  things  as  in  reason. 

Article  LVI.  The  messengers  and  other  agents  of  the  Holy  Of- 
fice, as  also  the  police,  are  bound  to  look  diligently  to  the  execution 
of  all  that  is  prescribed  in  this  edict,  and  also  to  proceed  immediate- 
ly to  arrest  delinquents,  if  found  in  the  act. 

Article  LVII.  If  they  shall  neglect  to  fulfill  this  duty,  the  mes- 
sengers and  agents  shall  be  immediately  dismissed ;  and  as  to  the 
police,  the  superior  military  authority  shall  be  called  upon  to  take 
further  steps. 

Article  LVIII.  The  present  edict  must  always  be  kept  publicly 
posted  up  in  the  sacristies  of  parish  churches,  and  of  others  most 
known  and  frequented,  as  also  in  lodging-houses,  and  eatiug-houses, 
and  inns,  undcK  pain  of  a  fine  of  twenty  halfpence,  to  be  applied  as 
above.  Article  LV. 

Article  LIX.  Further,  this  edict  shall  be  published  by  the  rever- 
end parish  priests  from  the  altars,  and  posted  up  in  the  usual  places, 
after  which  it  shall  have  the  same  force  as  if  it  had  been  presented  to 
every  individual  personally. 

Given  at  Loretto  on  the  8th  of  March,  1850. 

Philip,  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  FeiTiio,  President ;  John,  Cardinal 
Bishop  of  Osimo  and  Cingoli ;  Dominick,  Cardinal  Bishop  of  Sini- 
gaglia ;  Charles  Louis,  Cardinal  Archbishop,  Bishop  of  Jesi ;  An- 
tony Maria  Benedict,  Archbishop,  Bishop  of  Ancona ;  Alexander, 
Archbishop  of  Urbino;  Felix,  Archbishop  of  Camerino;  Louis, 
Bishop  of  Fano ;  Francis,  Bishop  of  Fabriano  and  ISIatelica ;  Boni- 
fiice,  Bishop  of  Pergola  and  Cagli ;  Eleonoro,  Bishop  of  !Montalto ; 
Francis,  Bishop  of  Sanssevcrino ;  Amadius,  Bishop  of  Macerata  and 
Tolentino;  Guerr'  Antony,  Bishop  of  St.  Angelo  and  of  Urbania; 
Crispin,  Bishop  of  Montefeltro ;  Philip,  Bishop  of  Fossombrone  ; 
Faithful,  Bishop  of  Ripatransone  ;  John  Francis,  Bishop  of  Recana- 
ti  and  Loretto ;  Charles,  Bishop  of  Ascoli ;  John  Baptist  Ceruti, 
Vicar  Apostolic  of  Pisano. 


appe:n^dix.  423 


E,  p.  200. 

Decree  of  an  Inquisitor  General. 

The  Inquisition  and  the  Morality  of  its  Laws. 

{The  following  Decree  has  still  the  force  of  law.) 

DECREE. 

We,  Brother  Philip  Bertolotti  of  the  Order  of  Preachers,  Master 
in  Sacred  Theology  in  the  cities  and  dioceses  of  Pesaro,  Rimini, 
Fano,  Pennabilli,  and  the  lands  and  places  annexed,  Inquisitor 
General  of  the  Holy  Apostolic  See,  specially  delegated  against  he- 
retical corruptions : 

We,  desiring  (as  is  demanded  by  the  duties  of  the  Holy  Office  im- 
posed on  us)  that  the  Catholic  faith,  without  which,  as  writes  the 
Apostle  Paul  to  the  Hebrews,  it  is  impossible  to  please  God,  should 
be  preseiTcd  within  this  our  jurisdiction  from  all  heretical  contagion 
immaculate  and  pure ;  and  it  being  manifest  from  experience  that 
many  from  malice  or  from  disobedience,  and  others  from  ignorance, 
do  not  discharge  the  most  strict  obligation  under  which  they  lie  to  de- 
nounce to  the  Holy  Office  the  offenses  appertaining  to  it,  and  that  hence 
spring  up  things  unbecoming,  and  offenses  not  only  against  good 
morals,  but  expressly  against  the  Catholic  faith.  We,  therefore, 
who  should  have  at  heart  the  glory  of  God,  the  full  preservation  and 
increase  of  the  said  holy  faith,  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  to  prevent 
all  disorder,  do,  with  the  apostolic  authority  conceded  to  us,  com- 
mand, in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  and  under  pain  of  major  excommu- 
nication, besides  the  other  punishments  prescribed  by  the  sacred  can- 
ons, decrees,  constitutions,  and  bulls  of  the  sovereign  pontiff  in  the 
spiri);  of  the  present  edict,  to  all  and  every  person  of  whatever  state, 
grade,  condition,  or  dignity,  as  well  ecclesiastical  as  secular,  that 
within  the  term  of  one  month,  ten  days  of  which  remain  assigned  for  the 
first,  ten  days  for  the  second,  and  ten  for  the  third  peremptory  term, 
they  should  reveal  and  judicially  notify  to  us,  or  to  our  vicars, 
or  the  respective  ordinaries  of  the  places,  all  and  every  of  that  and 
what  they  may  know  concerning  those  that  are  heretics,  or  suspected 
or  slandered  as  being  heretics,  or  favorers,  or  harborers,  or  defenders 
of  heretics,  or  those  who  have  adhered  or  do  adhere  to  the  rites  of 
the  Jews,  or  of  the  Mohammedans,  or  of  the  pagans,  or  have  aposta- 
tized from  the  holy  Catholic  faith. 

Those  who  have  committed  or  are  committing  any  acts  from  which 


-124  APPENDIX. 

one  can  infer  an  expressed  or  tacit  covenant  -wrrn  the  devil, 
exercising  incantations,  magic  arts,  witchcrafts,  offering  suffumiga- 
TIONS  TO  THE  SAME,  ?«cc?2se  Or  prayers  f Or  finding  treasures,  or  other 
unlawful  means,  invoking  him  or  promising  obedience  to  him,  or  do- 
ing other  things  in  ichich  his  name  or  ivories  may  intervene :  who  may 
have  meddled,  or  who  do  meddle  in  experiments  in  necromancy,  or 
any  sort  of  magic  whatever,  with  abuse  of  the  sacraments  or  sacra- 
mental things,  or  of  things  sacred  or  blessed. 

Who,  not  being  priests,  with  sacrilegious  daring  have  usurped  or 
do  usurp  the  office  of  celebrating  the  holy  mass,  or  have  presumed 
to  administer  the  sacrament  of  penance  to  the  faithful  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Who  have  abused  or  do  abuse  the  sacrament  of  penance,  and  the 
place  of  the  same,  contrary  to  the  decrees  and  the  apostolic  ordi- 
nances. 

Who  have  held  or  do  hold  secret  conventicles  or  assemblies,  to  the 
injur}^,  or  in  contempt  of  the  holy  Catholic  religion. 

Who  against  the  blessed  God,  the  most  holy  Virgin  Mary,  and 
against  the  saints,  have  offered  or  do  offer  heretical  blasj^hejm'es,  or 
have  committed  or  are  committing  any  act  whatsoever  of  contempt 
or  of  injury  against  the  holy  images. 

W^ho,  notwithstanding  the  solemn  vow  made  at  the  profession  of 
any  religious  order  approved  by  the  Church,  and  after  having  taken 
holy  orders,  have  contracted,  or  are  about  contracting,  or  endeavor- 
ing to  contract,  matrimony. 

Who,  their  first  wife  being  alive,  take  a  second,  or,  their  fii-st  hus- 
band being  alive,  take  a  second,  or  who  have  endeavored  or  do  en- 
deavor to  do  this. 

Who  have  impeded  or  who  do  impede  in  any  way  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Inquisition,  or  who  in  any  manner  have  contravened  the  bull 
of  his  Holiness  Pius  V.,  which  commences  Si  de  protegendis. 

Who  have  made  satires  or  published  writings  against  the  high  pon- 
tiff, the  sacred  college,  the  superiors,  the  ecclesiastics,  or  against  the 
regular  orders,  or  who  have  composed  or  published  writings  of  any 
sort  in  which  may  be  abuse  or  profanation  of  sacred  words. 

Who  without  the  necessary  permission  may  keep  in  their  possession 
writings  or  prints  which  may  contain  heresies,  or  heretical  books 
professedly  contrary  to  religion,  or  who  may  read,  print,  or  cause 
the  same  to  be  printed,  or  who  may  introduce  or  circulate  them  xm- 
der  any  pretext  whatsoever. 


APPENDIX.  425 

Such  persons  as  -without  necessity  or  leave  have  eaten  or  given  to 
eat  meat,  eggs,  or  milk  foods  on  forbidden  days,  in  disregard  of  the 
commands  of  the  holy  Church. 

Who  have  induced  any  Christian  to  embrace  Judaism,  or  any  oth- 
er sect  contrary  to  the  holy  Catholic  religion,  or  who  have  in  any 
way  hindei'ed  Jews  or  Turks  from  having  themselves  baptized.  Be 
it  declared,  however,  that  the  said  enumeration  of  cases  by  us  speci- 
Jied  as  to  he  revealed  to  the  Inquisition  does  not  exclude  the  other 
cases  appertaining  thereto,  or  which  are  comprised  in  the  sacred 
canons,  decrees,  and  bulls  of  the  high  pontiff.  Much  less  is  the 
present  edict  intended  to  derogate  from  the  other  apostolical  canoni- 
cal provisions,  and  the  other  edicts  emanating  from  the  ordinaries  or 
inquisitors.  Be  it  declared  besides  that  those  who  loill  not  denounce  as 
ordered  hij  the  present  edict  can  not  he  absolved  from  any  excommunica- 
tion incurred  hy  them  until  after  they  have  as  above  judicially  revealed 
the  delinquents ;  and  that,  although  the  assigned  term  of  the  month 
may  have  passed  as  above,  the  obligation  still  remains  to  reveal  and  de- 
nounce under  the  same  penalties  until  such  time  as  the  person  possessed 
of  the  infoi-mation  shall  have  effectively  informed  and  denounced.  And 
in  order  that  the  present  edict,  together  with  the  orders,  as  well  gen- 
eral as  special,  may  come  to  the  knowledge  of  all,  we  ordain  and 
command  that  they  he  Icept  posted  up  in  the  sacristies  of  the  churches 
belonging  as  well  to  the  secidar  as  to  the  regular  clergy.  To  the  end 
that  no  one  may  remain  ignorant  of  the  present  orders  or  withdraw 
himself  from  obedience,  loe  enjoin  xipon  all  printers,  booksellers,  custom- 
house officers,  tax  collectors,  gate-keepers,  inn-keepers,  lodging -house- 
keepers, and  shop-keepers,  all  respectively,  that  they  keep  posted  up  a 
copy  of  the  present  edict  in  their  respective  printing-houses,  book- 
shops, custom-houses,  gates,  inns,  lodging-houses,  and  shops,  and  in 
a  public  place  where  it  can  be  seen  and  read  by  all. 

EXHORTATION. 

The  principal,  rather  the  only  object  of  the  Inquisition  being,  as 
has  been  said  above,  the  glory  of  God,  the  exaltation  of  the  holy 
faith,  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  therefore,  after  having  commanded 
and  ordained  as  above,  now  we  exhort  fraternally  all  those  who  may 
know  themselves  to  be  guilty  of  some  crime  appertaining  to  the  In- 
quisition, to  present  themselves  before  us,  or  before  our  vicars,  or  be- 
fore the  ordinary  of  the  place,  spontaneously,  before  being  antici- 
pated or  denounced  by  others,  and  to  confess  with  all  sincerity  and 


426  APPENDIX. 

integrity  their  errors  and  their  shortcomings;  assuring  them  that 

WHENEVER   THEY   HAVE   NOT  BEEN    LEGALLY   ANTICIPATED    BEFORE 

ANY  OTHER  ECCLESIASTICAL  TRIBUNAL,  they  icill  he  received  ivith  bow- 
els of  charity^  and  treated  with  sjoedal  compassion,  the  natural  dispo- 
sition of  this  sacred  tribunal,  and  in  that  way  without  any  danger,  or 
without  public  penance  or  punishment,  they  will  be  absolved  and 
discharged. 

PAETICULAR  ORDERS. 

Pertaining  to  the  orders  enjoined  by  us  relative  to  the  printing, 
introduction,  sale,  and  promulgation  of  wicked  and  prohibited  books, 
and  being  specially  interested  that  in  the  cities  and  places  under  our 
jurisdiction  should  be  preserved  that  purity  of  faith  which,  by  the 
grace  of  the  Most  High,  exists  at  present,  we  ordain  and  expressly 
command  that  no  one  dare  to  print,  introduce,  sell,  or  circulate  books 
within  or  without  the  cities  or  places  subject  to  us,  without  their  hav- 
ing been  subjected  to  the  revision  of  the  Inquisition,  and  of  the  offi- 
cer belonging  to  it,  under  the  punishment  established  by  the  sacred 
canons,  the  general  and  special  decrees  of  the  sacred  congregation, 
and  the  apostolic  constitutions  which  have  been  issued  and  promul- 
gated on  this  subject,  and  especially  by  those  of  Clement  VIII.  and 
Gregory  XV. 

Besides,  as  being  inseparable  from  the  orders,  decrees,  edicts  of 
the  supreme  tribunal  of  the  Inquisition  at  Rome,  and  the  constitu- 
tions and  pontifical  bulls  respectively  published  and  promulgated 
with  respect  to  the  Jews,  especially  as  regards  cohabitation  and  fa- 
miliarizing with  them,  we  ordain  and  command  that  no  one  dares  to 
transgress  the  orders  and  prescriptions  in  these  cases  under  the  pen- 
alties in  them  expressed  and  threatened. 

Given  at  the  Inquisition  of  Pesaro  the  15th  of  September,  1841. 
For  FiLipro  Bertolotti,  Inquisitor  General. 

Antonio  Sevtirini,  Chancellor  General  of  the  Inquisition. 
("Documents,"  vol.  i.,  p.  302.) 


INDEX. 


Absolution,  mode  of  finding,  changed, 

212. 
Accusations  suggested  and  enforced  by 

torture,  197, 199, 40T,  408, 412,  413. 
Addresses  to  the  Pope,  897-401. 
Amnesty,  the  papal,  and  its  exceptions, 

185,187,371,372. 
Antonelli,  Cardinal,  182,  275,  310,  344, 

347,  352-355,  3CG-3G9,  373,  378,  383, 

385,  390. 
Apostles,  why  thirteen  ?  308. 
Architectural  beauty  of  cities,  34,  36. 
Armonia,  L'  (Jesuit  paper),  54. 
Assassination,  official  incitement  to,  192, 

193. 
Austria  and  Austrians,  57,  73,  101,  102, 

120,  126,  127,  137,  170,  182,  183,  383- 

389,  393. 
Austrian  repression  of  papal  cruelties, 

102, 387,  388, 406. 
Azeglio,  D',  family,  54,  56,  59. 
Basilicas,  privileges  of,  285,  286. 
Bedini,  Archbishop,  102,  182,  185,  194, 

195,  376,  383,  384,  406. 
Benediction,  the  out-of-door,  355. 
Bengal  lights,  punishment  for  burning, 

374. 
Bevilacqua,  Marquis  of,  371. 
Bible  Society,  the,  at  Milan,  97, 98. 
Blasphemy,   punishment   for,  203,   204, 

416. 
Bologna,  Corporation  of,  181,  183,  191, 

192,  393,  394. 
Bologna,  judgment  of  court  of,  191, 192, 

411-413. 
Bonaccioli,  Hannibal,  131. 
Bonaccioli,  Professor  Thomas,  380-382. 
Book  shops,  95,  97, 136. 
Bread  and  water,  126, 191,  200, 416. 
Buona  Novella,  La  (Vaudois  paper),  55. 
Capitol,  the,  290,  293. 
Capuchin  monks,  the,  141. 
Carignano,  Prince  of,  225,  231,  314. 
Cathedral  of  Milan,  the,  83, 84. 
Catholic  and  Roman  Catholic,  104, 109, 

142,  339-342. 
Catholicity  of  religious  denominations  in 

England,  247,  248. 
Cavour,  26,  44,  45,  50,  72, 173,  245,  244 

251,  301,  392. 
Celibacy  of  priests,  169, 171,  323. 


Churches  open  for  private  devotion,  G.3. 

Civilta  Cattolica,  La,  64,  67,  173,  243, 
244,  251,  301,  391. 

Climate,  its  effects  on  man,  117, 119. 

Cocchi,  Colonel,  and  the  amnesty,  185. 

Coffee-houses,  benefits  of,  279,  280. 

Commandments  of  God  changed,  212, 
213. 

Commandments  of  the  Church,  213. 

Como,  99, 101, 103, 

Confession,  mode  of,  142,  213. 

Confessions  of  crime,  suggested,  enforced, 
and  retracted,  197, 199. 

Constitution,  Eoman,  of  1848,  367-371. 

Converts  from  popery,  135. 

Corcelles,  Monsieur  de,  apology  for  pon- 
tifical government,  193. 

Corruption  and  invention,  210. 

Corsi,  Canon,  murder  of,  174. 

Council  of  Censure,  375,  376, 384. 

Courtship  and  its  laws,  201. 

Cudgelman,  189. 

Decalogue  changed,  213,  216,  237. 

De  Santis,  Dr.,  40. 

Deserters  from  papal  army,  195. 

Despotism,  temporal,  arises  out  of  spirit- 
ual, 57. 

Destroy,  not  excepting  infants,  3G5. 

Dialects  of  Italy,  difficulty  for  travelers, 
71,  72,  87. 

Dogs  set  upon  prisoners,  198, 

Dolfi,  Giuseppe,  and  Lord  Normanby, 
233. 

Dottrina  Christiana,  La,  214. 

Drinks,  national,  85, 326, 327. 

Duchesses  of  Parma,  139. 

Duke  of  Milan  and  the  papal  bull,  98. 

Dying  men  and  theu'  property,  322,  325, 
379-382. 

Eardley,  Sir  Cullen,  61. 

Easter  Sunday  at  Rome,  342,  343. 

Eight  hundred  condemned  in  a  single 
sentence,  197. 

Elections,  morality  of,  152, 153. 

England,  feeling  toward,  12,  43,  87,  88, 
94,  111. 

England,  the  land  of  home,  171. 

Enlistment  for  papal  army,  390,  391. 

Excommunication,  feeling  respecting,  49, 
52, 72, 76, 88,  96,  97, 108, 112, 136, 137, 
300,  301,  335-339. 


428 


INDEX, 


Executions,  19S,  374,  394,  401,  40T,  40S. 
Executorship,  an  agreeable,  379,  3S2. 
False   witness,  175,  178,  197,  198,  389, 

407,  40S,  412. 
Farina,  41,  03,  G5,  C7,  91, 143. 
Feasts   and  fasts,  punisliment  for  non- 

obsei'vance  of,  417,  420. 
Femio,  three  young  men  of,  174,  ITS. 
Ferrara,  three  men  of,  125, 132,  40G-409. 
Fetes,  225. 

Fines,  part  payment  to  informers,  210. 
Forii,  1S7, 191,  3S3,  384,  390. 
Frascati,  278,  279,  293,  337. 
Fuligno,  judgment  of  court  of,  3C4,  365. 
Galli  on  finance,  378. 
Garibaldi,  72,  75,  7G,  100,  101,  1G9,  388, 

405. 
Garibaldi's  Tv-ife,  101, 102,  405,  40G. 
Gavazzi  prevented  preacliing,  235. 
Gens  d'armes,  papal,  290,  292. 
Giornale  di  Roma,  G5,  280,  281,  395. 
Good  Friday  in  Home,  3'27. 
Govei-nmcnt  of  the  priests,  102,  lOS,  124, 

125,  126,  135,  162,  169,  172,  175,  196, 

197,  199,  209,  292,  322,  323,  325,  303- 

3G5,  374,  375,  379,  382,  395. 
Governor  of  Milan,  Massimo  d'Azeglio, 

56,  91, 99. 
Haystack  huts,  273. 
Ilemans,  Mr.  C.  J.,  331, 347,  350, 351. 
He  may  go  to  Jerusalem  or  Antiocli,  238. 
He  pays  himself  well.  111. 
Heresy  and  heretics,  200,  202,  320,  41G, 

424. 
Hilliers,  Baraguay  d',  121. 
Historic  ruins,  idea  represented  by,  293. 
Holy  father  and  dear  bread,  291. 
Holy  stair,  the,  296,  297,  20  S. 
Hudson,  Sir  James,  246,  247. 
Idea,  the,  16, 43,  111. 
Illuminations,  G3,  GC,  81,  82,  91,  92,  244, 

357. 
Images,  843,  314,  353. 
Immorality,  penalties  for,  420,  421. 
Immunity  of  priests  from  jurisdiction  of 

civil  courts  disregarded  by  Austrians, 

387,  388. 
Indulgences,  7T,  285. 
Informers'  and   witnesses'  names  kept 

secret,  200,  375,  398,  421. 
Inquisition,  the,  200,  202,  364,  410,  421, 

422,  423-426. 
Insolence,  punishment  for,  191. 
Islamisra  and  Komanism,  402,  403. 
Italians,  physically,  119. 
It  is  not  always  the  guilty  who  die,  178, 

398 
King  of  Glory,  347-350. 
liadicH  jumping,  313. 
I^amoriciore,  347,  357. 
Laterau,  the,  296,  304,  335. 
Light,  power  of,  20,  33,  263,  295, 290. 
Lodi,  121, 122. 

London,  architecture  of,  35, 36. 
Loretto,  edict  of  the  Synod  of,  199,  414, 

422.  I 


Loretto,  holy  house  of,  315,  310. 

Luther  on  the  Holy  Stair,  297,  298. 

Magenta,  75,  76. 

Marble  or  plaster?  interior  of  St.  Peter's, 
305. 

Maremma,  the,  232. 

Marliani,  Count,  170. 

Medical  aid,  393,  394. 

Melegnano,  who  commanded  at  the  bat- 
tle? 120, 121. 

Milanese,  assembly  of,  their  opinions, 
106,  111. 

Minister  and  priest,  distinction  between, 
45,  46,  IGG,  107. 

Modena,  143. 

Modern  Rome,  294, 295. 

Monterosi,  sample  of  the  Campagni,  275, 
270. 

Mortara  family,  the,  visit  to,  61,  62. 

Mothers  of  families,  group  of  one  hundred 
begging,  376. 

Motu  Troprio,  371. 

Mourning  banner,  91,  220. 

Municipal  government,  377,  375. 

Murray,  257,  303. 

Naple.<,  king's  palace  emblematic  of  his 
government,  110,  111, 

Napoleon  III.,  25,  26, 42,  43, 145, 147, 363, 
409-411. 

National  Guard,  364,  386. 

National  stability,  what  constitutes  ?  170, 
17L 

Nave,  the,  of  St.  Peter's,  fault  iu  propor- 
tion, 303. 

Ney,  M.  Edgar,  306. 

Nuns  of  Milan,  82. 

Oh,  he  is  a  soldier,  76. 

Order,  public,  91, 169,  245,  397,  400,  401. 

Orlati,  Baptist,  punishment  for  irrever- 
ence and  heresy,  202,  203. 

Oudmot,  General,  363,  304. 

Papers  to  read,  85. 

Parma,  138,  143,  144. 

Pasquino  and  the  excommunication,  53. 

Passports,  217,  225,  278,  3S9. 

Pepoli,  Count,  149,  153,  109,  170. 

Physical  conformation  of  Italy,  119. 

Piacenza,  117,  123,  124,  130,  137,  140, 
325. 

Picdmontese,  feeling  toward  the  French, 
20. 

Picdmontese,  not  revolutionary  propa- 
gandists, 44. 

Pio  Nono,  172,  173,  201,  23T,  275,  310, 
314,  319,  349,  367-371,  374,  381,  382, 
387,  395,  414. 

Poison,  precautions  against,  351. 

Police,  priests,  and  robbers,  alleged  col- 
lusion between,  220. 

Political  robe,  the,  171, 172, 

Pope's  curse  and  his  blessing,  England 
andNaples,63,  113,  114. 

Pope's  Irish  Brigade,  lands  for,  278. 

Portative  throne,  the,  340. 

Preaching  among  reformed  Italian?, 
character  of,  239. 


INDEX. 


429 


Tress    in    Roman    States,  C4,  C5,  184, 

185. 
Priest  and  his  breviary,  discussion  with, 

103-lOT. 
Priest  (Hugo  Bassi)  shot  by  Austrians, 

SS7. 
Priests  as  patriots,  43,  40,  86,  87,  97, 

170. 
Protestant  burial-ground  at  Eomc,  319, 

321. 
Protestant   congregations   at  Florence, 

233,  234. 
Protestant  and  Roman   Catholic  coun- 
tries, difference  between,  1G2, 164. 
Purchase  system  in  the  army,  22,  25. 
Radetzky,  refusal  to  receive  papal  sub- 
jects in  his  army,  194 
Reformed  Italian  Christians,  views  of, 

248,  249. 
Relics,  298,  299,  333,  334,  354. 
Religious  liberty  and  the  Italian  patriots, 

58,  61, 170,  234,  237,  250. 
Religious  prospects  of  Italy,  247. 
Religious  orders,  differences  between,  321, 

322. 
Revolution  led  by  natural  heads  of  the 

people,  154, 165. 
River,  what  constitutes  the  identity  of  a, 

2SS. 
Roman  railways,  279. 
Rossi,  Prelate  Stephen,  recommends  the 

bastinade,  188. 
Rota  Romana,  381. 
Sacraments  changed,  211. 
St.  Jean  de  Maurienne,  14, 16. 
St.  Peter's,  280,  286,  302,  305,  307,  317, 
Savoy,  feeling  respecting  annexation  to 

France,  9,  12,  25,  20,  43. 
Secret  Court  of  Censure,  375. 
Sermons,  106,  155,  160,  230,  271. 
Seven  hills,  the,  293,  294. 
Sincere  defenders  of  the  Church,  where 

are  they?  89,90. 


Singing  in  churches,  160,  161,  234,  238, 

300. 
Sistine  Chapel,  304. 
Skies,  comparison  between  those  of  Italy, 

Egypt,  and  America,  256. 
Soldiers  in  church,  314. 
Spezzia,  Gulf  of,  261,  262. 
Steam  horse  and  English  ideas,  273. 
Strange  Sundays,  93. 
Students  in  the  coffee-houses,  84,  85. 
Subjection  of  pontifical  government  to 

Austrians,  383-394. 
Subjects,  the  great  inconvenience  of  papal 

government,  193. 
Supper  of  the  thirteen  apostles,  315,  317. 
Surplice,  the,  among  the  olives,  220,  221. 
Taxes,  378,  379,  400. 
Teaching  humility,  317,  318. 
Temporal   and   spu-rtual   power   of  the 

Pope,  distinction  between,  48,  57,  58, 

97,  170,  238,  382,  383,  391,  392,  401. 
Tenebra?,  ceremony  of,  328-331. 
They  that  are  idle  eat,  they  that  labor 

starve,  323. 
Three  Lombard  officers,  73. 
Tiber,  the,  275,  287,  288,  294, 295. 
Ticino,  the,  74. 

Tobacco,  refusal  to  smoke,  372. 
Too  near,  the  Italians,  not  to  know  what 

the  Popes  are,  137. 
Torture,  125, 197, 199,  203,  372,  377,  3SS, 

395, 407, 40S,  412,  413. 
Tuscan  government  superior  to  papal, 

217. 
Vaudois,  the,  36,  39,  65,  66,  76,  233, 248. 
Velva,  the  pass  of,  264. 
Venetia,  91, 112, 119, 120. 
Vines  and  violence,  326,  327. 
Washing  the  apostles'  feet,  307,  313. 
We  are  a  nation,  43,  63,  85. 
Wines  and  their  effects,  326,  327. 
Worship  changed,  211. 
You  can  buy  any  thing,  77. 


THE   JE.1^D. 


/ ' 


14  DAY  USE 

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